The War of the Ring
by TolkienGeek1
Summary: Thorin Oakenshields heirs, Fili, Kili, and Brynn (my OC from my Hobbit story!), have been sent to Rohan to assist King Theoden in any way they can in the fight against Sauron. Follow them through The Lord of the Rings, and see what sort of trouble they can find themselves in!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! This story is something I've been planning for years, but I needed a break of multi-fic writing for awhile. This is my sequel to The Hobbit story I wrote, which is about Fili, Kili, and my OC (their little sister) Brynn. So if you haven't read that you could, but I don't think you really HAVE to. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! This chapter might be a bit boring since it's the first chapter and it's the set up but please stick with me!**

( **This is a HUGE time jump from The Hobbit, as you know, so Fili is 35, Kili is 34, and Brynn is 29!)**

The plains of Edoras were empty, save for five weary travellers. Three dwarves and two children of men were making their way to the city in the hill.

Brynn, Fili, and Kili had met Eothain and Freda on their way to Edoras, and had taken care of them. The children were starving, thirsty, and exhausted. They had explained that their village had been attacked by village men, and that they were separated from their mother. Now, Fili rode on the children's horse with a sleeping Eothain in front of him, Kili was carrying Freda in his arms with her head on his shoulder, and Brynn was walking beside them.

As they got closer to their destination, they saw two men amongst the lily covered tombs. One Brynn recognized as King Theoden, whom they were there to see, but the other took a minute.

"My land, Fili, is that..." Brynn trailed off, not wanting to sound foolish.

"It couldn't be!" Kili exclaimed.

But it couldn't be anyone else. The 'unknown' man was really a very well known (by them, anyway) wizard. A wizard whom they loved very much.

"Gandalf!" Brynn shouted, running towards him.

He turned, confusion of who was calling his name evident on his face before recognition set in. He smiled widely at her, opening his arms to accept the hug Brynn threw herself into. Perhaps it wasn't the type of behaviour she should have been displaying - especially in front of a king - but she was too excited to be formal, and it made Gandalf laugh.

Brynn took a couple steps back from their embrace.

"Princess Brynn, I nearly didn't recognize you, you've grown so much." Gandalf remarked.

"No surprise, considering how long it's been since you've visited Erebor." Brynn scorned playfully, hands on hips.

Gandalf laughed. "It has been long. Unfortunately, fate has gotten in the way of my plans. Though I was hoping to see you at Bilbo's birthday party."

"Ah, we did visit The Shire, Gandalf, but a few days before the event. It was the only time we were able. We must have just missed you."

"Gandalf!" Kili called, now close enough to join the conversation. "Either my old age is affecting me, or something very interesting has happened. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you used to be grey."

"If you are old, Kili, I shudder to think what that makes me. But my change of appearance is a long story, one we will save for another time. I suspect your trip here was not a vacation."

"No," Fili said. "We need to speak with you, King Theoden, but first these children need food and rest."

"Of course." Theoden said, the first time he'd spoken since the trio arrived. "Come with me."

They walked the short distance to the castle, the trio saving their conversation with Theoden for when they weren't moving. The city on the hill was a beautiful spot. You could see for miles around, the sun casting golden rays across the plains. If the trio had to live anywhere other than a mountain, it just might be there. The living was simple and that was what they enjoyed.

"Gandalf, may I ask why you are here?" Brynn asked, stepping out of the way of a child running across the road.

"That is a very long story as well. But really, I've been in the centre of this business because of Bilbo."

"Bilbo?"

"You remember how skilled he was at moving about unseen?"

"Of course. You said all hobbits could do that."

"Not like Bilbo could. You see, Bilbo found a special ring in Gollum's cave that made the weary invisible. In reality, it is attached to Sauron. To destroy him, we must destroy the ring in Mount Doom."

"And Bilbo has this ring? That puts him in much danger." Fili said, worried about their friend.

"No, he does not have it anymore." Gandalf replied. "He gave it to Frodo, who is now on his way to destroy it."

Brynn gasped. "Frodo? But he's so young!"

"Young in age only." Gandalf corrected.

"Do this whole war could be ended by a tiny ring?" Kili asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

They climbed the steps of the castle after giving the horse and the children into the hands of servants to be taken care of. Brynn marvelled at the intricacy of the carvings on the posts of the Golden Hall, the detail so gorgeous you didn't want to miss it.

"Until the ring is destroyed the war will continue in strength, and we must be prepared to fight." Said Gandalf, pushing open the doors to the hall. Huge tapestries lined the room, depicting scenes of battles fought long ago. In the back of the room was a throne, set up about a foot off the ground.

"Agreed." Said Fili, turning to Theoden. "And that is why we are here. Our uncle-"

The trio froze, all of them staring at the back of the room.

"Gimli?" Brynn questioned.

The red haired dwarf spun around, his face lighting up with joy. "Fili! Kili! And little Brynn!" He embraced them all, making them laugh.

"Will you ever stop calling me 'little Brynn'?" Brynn asked. "I'm taller than you are!"

"Ah, but still younger." Gimli replied, a gleam in his eye. "Come, meet my companions of late!"

The trio froze once again when they saw who he was referring to. One was a man. Though slightly strange, not unheard of. Even they had partnered and become friends with Bard the Bowman of Dale. But the other was an elf, who was very familiar, and not well liked by the trio.

"Prince Legolas." Brynn stated, her

voice a mix of shock and hostility.

"Princess Brynn." Legolas replied, his tone matching hers.

"Gimli, this is your companion?" Kili asked, obviously unimpressed.

"Aye." Gimli nodded. "I wasn't pleased either at first, but he's alright."

"You do realize that this is the elf that took one look at your picture - which he stole - in Mirkwood and thought you were an Orc mutant?" Fili said.

"I remember the story. But was it not you three that described him as a lanky willow with the fighting skills of a chicken?"

Kili hesitated. "We did say that, yes." He consented.

Fili sighed. "I suppose if Gimli says he's alright then we have to be a bit more open minded." Though he didn't sound at all happy about it.

In fact, none of the trio looked happy about it. Really, it wasn't unreasonable for them to be a bit prejudiced towards the elf. There was just something they couldn't get over about him capturing them, allowing his father to even begin slitting Brynns hand for information (though he did stop it and they remembered that), and trying to steal their mountain.

Theoden cleared his throat and the trio remembered why they were there.

The king looked amused, though slightly impatient. "I believe you had something to tell me."

"Yes!" Fili put the shock of the last two familiar faces behind him and turned to business once more, along with his siblings. "As I was saying, our uncle doesn't want you to think we've been ignoring what's happening in your land or the other lands of men. The reason we haven't sent help is because we've been attacked in waves almost since the war started."

Kili nodded to what his brother was saying. "We've needed every soul we have who can fight at least somewhat well. The fact that Sauron can breed fully functioning creatures every day has a damper on our odds. But we've managed to hold our own for now."

"Because we've been consistently winning - or tying, if you would - without too many losses, King Thorin decided he could risk sending us to Rohan." Brynn said. "We are here to fight for you, my lord. In whatever battle you find yourself in."

Theoden was at a loss for words for a minute. "He sent us three warriors?"

That was not the response the siblings had been expecting, and they were certainly not impressed. They hadn't wanted to leave Erebor and their friends and family. Thorin or Dis could be dead at the moment and they wouldn't know. Erebor was their home - they wanted to defend it. They had left because Thorin had asked them to, and they would go to the end of the earth for him.

"Well, if you'd like, we could go defend our own home." Kili said, trying his hardest not to be snippy.

"No!" Theoden said, realizing the rudeness of what he had said. "Forgive me. Three does not seem like much in these circumstances."

"If every warrior thought their one did not count you would have no army." Brynn said.

"I know. I am sorry. Please stay."

"Of course." Fili said, offering a smile.

"We head to Helms Deep in two days."

"Then we will go as well."

"We will feel right at home in the mountains." Brynn smiled. "You will see the very best fight in us."

"I will look forward to it." Theoden said. "Now excuse me, I must help my men prepare."

And with that Theoden and Gandald left. Brynn waited a full five seconds to make sure they were gone before speaking.

"Three does not seem like much? Uncle Thorin and Dwalin took down a hundred goblins by themselves. And does he not see the worth in uncle sending his three heirs?"

The man - one of Gimli's friends - stepped up. "King Theoden does not know how fiercely skilled dwarves are on the battlefield. But he will learn soon enough."

Kili furrowed his brow. "Who are you?"

The man smiled. "My name is Aragorn."

Fili raised his eyebrows. "Son of Arathorn? I thought you were in hiding."

Aragorn opened his mouth to answer, though he didn't know how he would do so. Before he could, Gimli interrupted.

"Lads, lass, you must be hungry and thirsty from your travels. Let us eat, and I'll tell you what's happened since I left Erebor, for there is one part of my journey you need to know."

Gimli's face darkened as he spoke, and the trio knew whatever he needed to tell them about was not good. They had no guesses about what it was though. And that worried them.

Gimli and his cousins found a quiet spot to talk. Gimli explained how he had joined the Fellowship of the Ring and then went on to describe their journey. The tale of the attack on Caradras had the trio in awe, and gave them flashbacks to when they were going through the Misty Mountains on their own quest. Attacks by orcs or other things were easily handled. When nature itself turns against you, all you can do is hold on.

It hurt Gimli to see his cousins eyes light up when he said he suggested going through Moria. He didn't want to say what he knew he had to.

"We went through Moria, entering by the secret door." Gimli spoke, keeping his voice even.

"Oh, that must have been fun." Brynn said, a warm smile on her face. "Balin must have given you a feast to remember."

Gimli took a huge breath. "No, he did not. My friends, Moria was taken by orcs. There were no survivors."

Brynns face, along with her brothers, went blank. She knew what they words meant but they were so shocking they wouldn't make sense.

"What are you talking about?" Fili asked, his voice low.

"They're all gone." Gimli said, looking down at the table.

"Balin and Ori... They're de-" Brynn broke off, unable to say the word. Her eyes filled with tears and she bit her lip, struggling to keep her composure. Her attempts were fruitless, though, when Kili hugged her. Tears poured down the siblings faces, heart wrenching sobs ripping from their throats. Fili joined his siblings in the hug, trying to hold them together while falling apart himself.

Balin had given all three of them private lessons. They'd be the first to admit it was probably the hardest task he'd ever taken on. It wasn't that he didn't like them (because he loved them) and it wasn't because they didn't like him (they adored 'Mister Balin'). It was just that they were easily bored. They were all glad when they finished their lessons and could spend time with Balin without boring history. Now, though, they'd give anything to be back. They wanted to go back in time to the room that smelled like old books and parchment, and Balin trying to make things as interesting as possible for the young heirs of Durin. It didn't seem real. Just weeks before they had left for Rohan they had gotten a letter from him. The date on it was long past, possibly from the year before, and they had assumed it had gotten delayed or lost at some point. While they were reading his words about how exited he was for Moria, he was lying in a tomb.

It took the siblings a long while before they figured they could move. They forced themselves to stop crying, though they very easily could have continued. After that they went their separate ways. They all needed to be alone for awhile, to go through their thoughts. This was not how they had expected their arrival in Edoras to go.

 **And that's that. I know it was a super lame chapter but I promise they get better! This is just the set up. So please stick around for Chapter 2, which will come when I get a review! (Give or take a couple days :P)**

 **So please please please let me know what you think! I really hope you like this, cause I do!**

 **The next chapter will move into more exciting things, I promise.**

 **Have a nice day!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back! Thank you so much for the feedback and enthusiasm! I wasn't expecting such a response but I'm so grateful!**

 **Sarah March: If by your husband you mean Thorin, I'm sad he can't be in it too! But he's got stuff to deal with, being a king and all. ;)**

 **BlossomLossy: No, no love interest in this! There's no time for romance haha. :P**

 **Enjoy!**

Brynn found herself a balcony where she could look out over the plains by the light of the moon. There was no one around at this time of night and for that Brynn was grateful. She didn't like strangers to see her as she was now: low, and ruined. Her and her brothers were supposed to be some hope for these people. Proof that they were not forgotten in their plight. Seeing one of the royal dwarves as broken as she could possibly be would not make a good impression, Brynn was sure of that.

Brynn felt a presence, and she looked up and to the right. Aragorn was walking in her direction, but he stopped when he saw her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize there was anyone here." He said.

Brynn looked away, annoyed. "Perhaps you should open your eyes then. It's not like I was hiding."

"No, you were not. I apologize for disturbing you."

Instantly Brynn felt heavy guilt. Her emotions were skewed, and that never went well for her. Not only had she snapped at this man, but he had taken it with kindness. That made her feel even more crumby.

"I'm sorry." She called, and Aragorn stopped his walk. "I received some bad news. It's made me a little out of sorts."

Aragorn turned. "Gimli told me about your conversation. I'm sorry for your loss."

Brynn gripped the railing of the balcony to stop herself from melting into tears again. "Thank you." She whispered. She blinked multiple times and forced her voice to be strong. "You were there. In those blasted mines."

"I was."

"What did you see?"

Aragorn hesitated, and Brynn knew he was questioning her emotional state. The flare of anger he felt proba ably proved he was right to do so, but she didn't care. She liked to have all the details, even if they'd give her a more vivid idea of something she didn't want to see in her mind.

"Tell me." She growled, teeth clenched.

"Brynn?"

Fili and Kili approached Brynn and Aragorn, obviously skeptically of why the man was with their sister. It didn't matter to them that he was heir to the throne of Gondor. Status of life meant nothing for the status of your heart.

"It's alright," Brynn said. "Aragorn was about to tell me what he saw in Moria." She sent Aragorn a pointed look.

That peaked Fili and Kilis interest, and they came to stand on either side of their sister. With all three of them wanting to hear his side of the story, Aragorn knew he wouldn't get out of it.

He sighed, resigned to something he didn't think was a good idea. "I saw a room full of corpses and one casket in the middle of the room. Gimli was weeping over it, and Gandalf said it was Lord Balin's. One corpse was leaning against it with a book in his hands. Gandalf read it. We discovered more of what happened and they figured the corpse was your other friend."

"Ori." Kili murmured, thinking of the sweet dwarf who was always so patient with the trio's antics.

Brynn choked back a sob, a tiny smile gracing her tear stained face. "He died with a book in his hands. He would have wanted to go that way, wouldn't he?"

"Yes, Brynn." Fili said. "I believe he was quite glad for that."

"We knew Moria was in-claimable, Fili. We knew and we let them go. We sent them to death with a party."

Kili's eyes filled with tears. "Don't, darling. We cannot do that to ourselves."

"Moria was not in-claimable." Aragorn dared to speak. "Your friend took it. He made good of it. What happened after was no ones fault."

There was silence, and Aragorn knew they were excepting that statement.

Brynn gasped. "Oh Mahal. Uncle Thorin and Dwalin don't know. They think Balin is alive and well! Should we write them?"

"No." Fili said forcefully. "They have enough to worry about right now."

The trio looked to the north, where their mountain lay out of sight. They couldn't see it, but they could imagine the hordes of orcs attaching it, and the king and his brother of choice fighting back to back.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

The ride to Helms Deep was about a days trip. Considering how long the trio had traveled to get to Rohan, a day was nothing to them. In fact, they were planning on enjoying it. The first part of the day was a little tense, because Gandalf hadn't thought going to Helms Deep was a very good idea and so neither did the trio. Now the wizard was off somewhere, leaving only orders to wait for him before fighting. As if they had much control over that. But things soon lightened up, and Gimli was telling stories to Eowyn, making her laugh. Brynn listened in to some extent; just enough to make sure Gimli was getting his facts straight and wasn't making things up about himself. He tended to do that quite often. But today he mostly spoke of dwarven culture and their home, Erebor. He talked of parties and drinking games. Of course he told of his different adventures, some with his friends and some with his three royal cousins. Brynn liked hearing those ones the best, for they sent her back to a simpler time, when war wasn't dulling the world.

After one story finished there was silence.

"Who is she?" Brynn heard Eowyn ask of Aragorn. "The woman who gave you that jewel."

Brynn perked her listening skills at that. She always had been curious of other people's affairs. Possibly not a good habit, but one that had come in handy quite a few times.

When Aragorn didn't answer, Eowyn prompted him. "My lord?"

"She is sailing to the Undying Lands, with all that is left of her kin." Aragorn said solemnly.

His woman was Elfkind, Brynn realized. She looked over at Aragorn to see the necklace that had started the conversation. She gasped when she saw it, causing Aragorn and Eowyn to look over at her.

"Mahal. You're Estel?" Brynn asked.

Aragorn was confused. "How did you..."

"Fili! Kili! Aragorn is Estel!"

The brothers dropped back from a few feet ahead as soon as they heard Brynn's proclamation.

"You don't say." Kili said, looking at Aragorn. "Are you really?"

"Yes, but-" Aragorn was once again cut off. He hadn't yet realized that once the trio got off on a tangent, there wasn't much use in trying to get a word in.

"Now why wouldn't Arwen tell us that her mystery man was the heir to the throne of Gondor?" Fili pondered.

"Perhaps because we would have given her no peace about it." Kili suggested playfully.

"That could be it." Fili laughed.

Aragorn couldn't help but smile at the glimpse of the relationship between the dwarves and his love. He had heard stories from Arwen of when the dwarves had visited. Apparently Elrond never slept during those trips, for the six friends were a fearsome pranking group.

Now, of course, the trio had found out about the mysterious Estel early on. The amount of time they tried prying out the identity of Arwen's man was possibly shameful, but they had been dying to know. Never, though, had she given up the truth - much to their disappointment. Now that they knew, they were quite gleeful.

"What I want to know is, how in Middle Earth did Elladan and Elrohir ever keep their mouths shut about it?" Brynn asked, looking ahead as Aragorn, Legolas, and the Kings most trusted men, Hama and Gamling, disappeared over a hill to scout out their path.

"I was thinking the same thing, Bree." Kili said. "They can never keep secrets. Unless it has to do with a prank."

"Exactly-" Brynn cut off when she felt a tugging on her pant leg.

A little girl was looking up at her and her brothers with a mix of awe and nervousness. She was a sweet child, with golden hair and blue eyes that melted Brynn's heart.

"Yes, child?" Brynn questioned.

"Is it true that you're the warriors who took back The Lonely Mountain?" The girl asked.

Kili ruffled her hair. "It sure is. We are heirs to Thorin Oakenshield himself."

The girl bounced on her toes as they walked along. She was not shy in the least. "My uncle told me about you all!"

Fili grinned. "What's your name, love?"

"Arya."

A neigh of a horse pierced the wind, and the trio froze. Something was wrong, though no one else seemed to notice. One look at each other confirmed that they felt the same thing. Years of getting into dangerous situations had them tuned to sensing bad things coming. And they were getting just such a feeling now.

Brynn bent over to Arya's level. She needed to get the girl to safety. "Where is your guardian?"

Arya looked around. "I don't know... I can't see me mum!"

"Warg scouts!" Aragorn came tearing down the hill. "We're under attack!"

The people buzzed into a frenzy at the words, panic spreading. Brynn wished Aragorn could have been more discreet, but she knew they were running out of time. Theoden started shouting orders to his men and the people.

Brynn looked frantically around for a woman who she could identify as Arya's mother, but none stood out as missing a child in the panic. Brynn was anxious. She had to fight. That was what she was there for. But she couldn't abandon the poor girl to find her mother herself.

Out of nowhere a twelve year old boy appeared and grabbed Arya's hand. He looked almost identical to Arya, and seemed very comfortable with Brynn, like he knew her.

"Arlan!" Arya cried, then looked at Brynn. "He's my brother!"

That was very good news for Brynn to hear. "Can you help me find your mum?" She asked the boy.

Arlan shook his head. "I'll find her myself. You're needed."

Brynn cocked her head skeptically, which only seemed to light a fire in Arlan's young heart. He didn't like to be underestimated. He turned as fierce as a twelve year old could. "I'll protect my sister. You fight the orcs."

"Alright, young fighter." Brynn smirked at his spirit. "Go!"

And they parted ways, one to safety, one to battle.

 **Dun dun dun... Sorry I didn't get into the exciting stuff this chapter. You know how it is! But next chapter is fun, so make sure you come back!**

 **Just so you know, my updating will be about how it was between these two chapters. I know it's slower than normal but these chapters are way longer than my Hobbit ones so it takes longer to type up. I hope you understand! I'll still update when I get a review, just within a few days. :)**

 **Have a lovely day! Can't wait to read what you all thought of this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**So this is a fast update, but I felt bad that the last two have been so boring, so here we go! Here's some action for ya'll. :)**

After splitting ways with Arlan and Arya, Brynn mounted her pony (borrowed from Rohan) and raced to Fili and Kili's side just in time to clash with the wargs and orcs. Instantly men and monster alike were falling from their mounts, either injured or pulled off by their opponents. That made it difficult for those still riding. Orcs they had no trouble trampling mercilessly, but constantly being on the lookout for brothers in arms was difficult indeed, not to mention distracting.

Brynn soon abandoned the idea of fighting on her pony and leapt off - she was better fighting on the ground anyway. Dwarves didn't much like fighting from animal unless they had to. She saw that Gimli has entered the fray on foot as well, sinking his axe into as many skulls - warg and Orc - as he could.

Brynn heard a growl from behind her and whipped around. A warg stood a few feet away from her, a Rohirrim dangling limply from its jaws. Rage boiled from the deepest part of her, and she charged the creature. Now, many soldiers made the mistake of thinking wargs were dumb creatures, but they were, in fact, very smart - even having their own language. So when the warg saw Brynn rushing towards it, it thought. It assumed that she was cocky and rash; an easy kill. It should not have made that assumption.

The instant the warg leapt at Brynn, mouth wide, she shoved her left foot forward, sliding along the ground. As the warg sailed over her, she dragged her sword along its belly, making a huge slit that squirted her with blood. Once the back feet passed over Brynn's head she twisted onto her stomach to look at the warg. It had crumpled into a heap upon impact with the ground. Brynn leapt to her feet with a smirk. The Orc a few steps away from her backed away. But Brynn had no mercy for any Orc, not even those who feared her. It was dead in a few seconds, head rolling away from body.

Brynn spotted Fili duelling three orcs at once, and ran over to assist, though he didn't really need it. Three orcs against one dwarf was hardly fair - for the orcs. But Brynn didn't feel so bad when three more orcs instantly joined the fray. Brynn pressed her back against Fili's so she didn't have to worry about what was behind her.

"How goes, sister?" Fili asked over his shoulder.

"Not half bad. Good to be fighting again." Brynn replied.

"Quite." Fili snatched the sword from one of his now dead opponents and used it to kill another, then threw it in the air for Brynn to catch in her outstretched hand. She thrust the blade through an orcs stomach and left it there.

Their fight was over in seconds. Fili suggested they split up, since they were the most experienced in fighting orcs. Brynn made it her mission to help anyone who looked like they would lose their life any minute. She decided that was the best way to sum up her reason for being in Rohan in the first place - to keep people alive. She didn't have to do it for very long - the battle ended and they won, if you could call it that. Men lay dead and wounded all over the grass, green stained red. Winning never felt like winning when you zeroed in on the losses.

Brynn took a moment to find both her brothers from a distance and get assured looks that they were unharmed. She then found Gimli's red hair, and the king's regal but mournful face. She could relax. With the knowledge that her family and the King were safe, Brynn started the work of sorting the wounded from the dead.

Brynn carefully pulled a horrible orcish weapon from the body of a young man. He was already gone to meet his forefathers, and she knew they wouldn't be bringing the dead to Helms Deep, but she wanted to at least respect the deep sacrifice the solder had made. Leaving any of them in their current state would go against Brynn's being. Thorin had always taught her to honour the dead to the best of her ability as a top rule - a statement probably set in him from all the friends and family he had lost, and especially those whom he had not been able to lay to rest.

She had just laid the Rohirrim's sword over his chest, hands clasped on the hilt, when she heard the one word call.

"Aragorn!"

Brynn pulled her eyes from the man she was taking care of and scanned the area. Legolas was the voice she had heard, and he was walking amongst the bodies, searching.

Gimli was not far away. "Aragorn?"

The two were nearing the cliff when Brynn heard the laughing and wheezing of an Orc, the sound carried to her ears on the wind. She narrowed her eyes and went over to the creature, arriving at the same time as Gimli and Legolas. Fili and Kili were making their way over as well.

"Tell us what happened." Gimli demanded, standing over the Orc.

It sneered before laughing again, pausing to cough up black blood.

Brynn looked at her brothers for approval before pulling a dagger and sinking it into the orcs shoulder, flinching only slightly when she was reminded of when an Orc had done the same thing to her.

She straightened. "You are dying, scum, but there is still time to make you suffer. Tell us what happened to our friend!"

The Orc hesitated and Fili stepped on its shoulder. It squealed, and Fili stopped instantly.

The Orc was laughing again, completely unmoved by the wound in his shoulder. "He's *cough* dead." He laughed even harder. "Took a little tumble off the cliff."

Legolas looked towards the cliff then grabbed the Orc. "You lie!"

The creature chortled once more. Then died. Something caught Legolas' eye, and he reached for the orcs hand. Prying its fingers open, he revealed the Evenstar pendant - the necklace Arwen had given to Aragorn. He took it on his hand and ran to the edge of the cliff, staring down to see the great drop and rushing waters. The dwarves went to stand beside him. There was no sign of a body. Aragorn was gone.

"Get the wounded on horses. The wolves of Isengard will return." Theoden called to his men, then spoke the words Brynn feared would come. "Leave the dead."

Legolas looked at Theoden with perplexed anger.

Theoden placed a hand on the elves shoulder. "Come."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The sight of Helms Deep was a comfort for the weary soldiers of Rohan, but none more so than the four dwarves. The sight of rock warmed their hearts with thoughts of home and family, and that was something they cherished very much. Helms Deep was a fortress unlike any other, as was made clear as they got closer. It would be defendable, Brynn thought, if they had the numbers. The only issue was that they didn't, and that darkened Brynns thoughts even more than they already had been. They all smelled of death, and she wanted nothing more than to wash it off. The stench only reminded her of who she had lost; the man Arwen was willing to sacrifice immortality for. It hurt.

The company crossed the bridge into the Deep, taking in the business within its glory.

"Make way for Theoden!" Gamling shouted. "Make way for the king!"

Eowyn rushed down stone steps to meet them, skirts held up in her hands. She stopped beside Theoden, looking around.

"So few." She said, expression pained. "So few have returned."

Theoden dismounted. "Our people are safe. We have paid for it with many lives."

Gimli slipped off his horse and approached the maiden. "My lady..."

"Lord Aragorn... Where is he?"

Brynn closed her eyes. So Theoden's niece had fallen for the ranger as well. So much pain, all caused by Sauron and his puppet Saroman.

Gimli tried to answer but couldn't, shaking his head. Brynn swung off her pony and handed the reigns to a stable boy.

"He fell." She replied for Gimli, her back still turned to them.

Fili put his hand on her back. She took a deep breath and followed her brothers away from the crowd.

The siblings went and cleaned up as much as they could with a bin of water and cloths. At the least they were able to get the blood off. After that they changed into one of the three pairs of clothes they had brought. They were about to wash their dirty clothes in the washing area when three women stopped then. As royalty, it would be done for them. Normally they would protest that reasoning, but as it was they were far too tired.

Privacy was near fantasy in Helms Deep, with the entirety of Edoras being housed in it. The trio was grateful to find a quiet corner, where they could patch up the nicks and scratches they had obtained and rest. There they sat for who knows how long. They sort of lost track of time, watching people walk by them. Not very many noticed them, and those who did only looked at them as if they were something special. They didn't feel special at the moment. You never really did after you lost a friend, especially when there was no body. No closure.

It was Brynn who spoke first, hands fiddling with each other, trying to distract herself. "He was a good man." She said, voice quiet.

She looked up at her brothers and they nodded solemnly.

"He was." Fili agreed. "And a good friend."

Kili thought of Gimli and Legolas, who had known Aragorn much better than the three, and how broken they looked. "And a good brother."

Brynn looked skyward at the grey clouds and close her eyes. "Do you... Do you think she can take it back? Arwen? Her choice of being mortal..."

Fili looked at his lap. "I don't pretend to be an expert, but that does seem awfully... Permanent."

Brynn fought back tears for her elven friend. "But she did it for Aragorn."

Kili put a hand on her knee. "We don't know that she has chosen. She could be in Valinor for all we know."

Brynn shook her head. "She has made her choice."

The trio shook their sadness and looked up as two children approached them. It was Arya and Arlan.

Brynn wiped her eyes and smiled. "Well, if it isn't the most brave children in Edoras." She looked at Arlan, shielding her eyes from the sudden beam of sun that broke through the clouds. "You kept your word, young fighter. I apologize for my doubt."

Arlan instantly grew shy. "It's alright."

Arya was still as bold as ever. "We found our mum! She's over there!" She pointed to a woman a ways off, who waved with a smile.

The trio waved back.

"Have you explored the Deep, m'lady?" Arya asked. "It's so big!"

"And the caverns are huge." Arlan put in. "We'll be safe here, won't we?"

The trio stumbled for an answer. No, they didn't believe they'd be safe there, but there was no way they'd tell that to a child. Fili opened his mouth to speak when shouts filled the air.

"He's alive!"

They looked at each other in uncertainty before getting to their feet. They said goodbye to the children and directed them to their mother and then headed for the fate. There, as if a ghost, was Aragorn.

 **Yay! Aragorn is alive!**

 **Next chapter, the battle begins. I'm really excited, I hope you are too!**

 **Make sure you tell me what you thought, and if you have any suggestions for stuff to come! I love hearing from you guys.**

 **Next review gets a chapter! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! I'm very very excited for this; this battle of Helms Deep is my favourite part! So many cool moments.**

 **Just thought I'd mention that whenever anyone is speaking in Elvish for an extensive amount of time I'll write it in English so no one gets confused! So just imagine that you're reading subtitles like in the movie. :)**

Aragorn looked like death. He was dirty, bloody, and tired, but he was alive, and that was all that really mattered. Gimli was hugging him, but the minute he let go Brynn ran down the steps and replaced the red-haired dwarf. Aragorn stood shocked for a second but Fili and Kili waved it off and he returned the hug.

"She's a hugger." Kili called, shaking Aragorns hand when Brynn stepped away.

"You do that again and I'll kill you myself." Brynn said, pointing out Aragorn's shoulder wound to Fili so he could examine it.

Aragorn moved out of reach of care. "Find the King and bring him to the hall. I have news he will want to hear."

The trio and Gimli looked after the man as he left, thoroughly confused.

"He never stops moving, does he?" Kili asked.

"You should try travelling with him." Gimli grumbled.

Oioooooooooooooooooo

The dwarves, Theoden, Gamling, and a few other random guards waited in awkward silence for Aragorn. When Aragorn arrived with Legolas, the King wasted no time in embracing him. Brynn saw that the Evenstar was back around Aragorn's neck and smiled. She looked up to see Legolas staring at her and knew he understood what she was happy about. She nodded at him, and he nodded back.

When all the greetings had been exchanged, Aragorn told what he had seen coming to the Deep.

"A great host, you say?" Theoden questioned, clearly disheartened.

"All Isengard is emptied." Aragorn expanded.

"How many?"

"Ten thousand strong at least."

"Ten thousand?!" Theoden exclaimed.

Brynn leaned over to Kili and whispered, "I'm worried about the 'at least' part..."

Kili nodded in agreement, listening closely to all Aragorn said to get an idea of what they were facing.

"It is an army built for a single purpose." Aragorn said. "To destroy the world of men."

"And dwarves, but who's counting." Kili murmured to his sister.

"Aye." Brynn nodded up at him with a small smile, then spoke louder to the rest of the room. "How long?"

Aragorn turned to her. "They will be here by nightfall."

"Let them come!" Declared Theoden, starting along the passage to the Deepening Wall. The four dwarves, Legolas, and Aragorn followed him, not quite done with their conversation.

Theoden gave orders to Gamling as they walked, and the soldier left as soon as they reached the gate. There he stood with the three hunters and Thorin's heirs, looking out into the land that would soon be infested with orcs.

"We will cover the causeway and the gate from above." He explained. "No army has ever breached the Deepening Wall or set foot inside the Hornburg."

Gimli shook his head. "This is no rabble of mindless orcs. These are Uruk-hai. Their armour is thick and their shields broad."

"I have fought many battles, master dwarf. I know how to defend my own keep."

Gimli bristled at that, but Legolas clapped a hand on his shoulder and he let it go. Fili, however, was not so sure the King understood what Uruk-hair were. He knew Theoden had never seen one, let alone fight one. Fili had, though. He had watched his friends fall at the hands of them.

"My liege, orcs can be smart if they try, but their main strength is numbers. Uruk-hai _think_. They plan, they evaluate. And as we've heard, they also have numbers we cannot match." He said.

Theoden wouldn't be swayed. "They will break upon this fortress like water on rock. Sauroman's hordes will pillage and burn, we've seen it before. Crops can be resown, homes rebuilt. Within these walls, we will outlast them."

"They do not come to destroy Rohan's crops or villages. They come to destroy its people." Aragorn argued. "Down to the last child!"

Visions of Arya and Arlan, Freda and Eothain, filled Brynn's mind, and she cringed at the thought of them being slaughtered by orcs. These people did not deserve to die. Not like that.

Theoden stepped nearer to Aragorn, their faces close. "What would you have me do? Look at my men. Their courage hangs by a thread. If this is to be our end, I would have them make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance."

"Send out riders, my lord. You must call for aid."

Theoden scoffed. "And who will come? Elves? Dwarves? We are not so lucky in our friends as you." Theoden looked at those surrounding Aragorn, shaking his head. "The old alliances are dead."

"Gondor will answer." Aragorn insisted.

Brynn made a face. She agreed with most everything Aragorn said, but this she disagreed with. Gondor had fallen much in its time without a king; she had heard of it from her uncle. It's ruler, Denethor, was sick on greed. No, Gondor was not their best bet.

Theoden knew it as well as Brynn. "Gondor? Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell? Where was Gondor when our enemies closed in around us? Where was Gon..." He paused, containing himself. "No, Lord Aragorn, we are alone."

And with that he walked away, leaving the six foreigners of Rohan to prepare for their death.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

The trio was ready for battle. Because of the long distance they had travelled from Erebor they were unable to bring full sets of armour, and we're now dressed in choice pieces of hard leather and chain mail. They preferred the lighter protection anyway, but Thorin had been worried about the greater chance of death, even if it was fairly small. He always worried about them, and now that they were out of reach it was even worse. He had to send them though. It was either the three of them or a much larger host of dwarves, and he couldn't afford to send more than the three of them. The sentiment behind him sending all his heirs was worth the same as him sending 50 dwarves.

Now the three of them were helping arm the new recruits to Theoden's army. Any boy or man who could lift a sword had been drafted. It didn't matter if they were a baker or a blacksmith, ten years old or seventy, they were taken from the catacombs and straight to the armoury.

Gimli was helping a young boy pick out an ax, Kili was showing an old man his to properly pull back a bow string, and the rest of them were helping when needed.

Aragorn picked up a battered sword and then tossed it back in the pile with disgust. "Farmers, farriers, stable boys. These are no soldiers."

Brynn nodded in agreement, watching the line go by. "Most have seen too many winters." She was looking at the next man to pass her, who was well past his prime.

"Or too few." Added Legolas.

Brynns breath hitched in her throat when she saw Arlan pick up a sword from the pile, small hands shaking as they wrapped around the hilt.

"Look at them." Continued the elf. "They're frightened. I can see it in their eyes."

The men around them fell silent at that. Legolas and Aragorn continued to speak in Elvish, but Brynn and Fili understood what was being said. From their time in Rivendell and some books on the language they understood most major words, and pieced together the rest.

"And they should be... Three hundred against ten thousand!" Legolas exclaimed.

"They have more hope of defending themselves here than at Edoras." Aragorn countered, and Brynn admired his optimism.

"Aragorn, we are warriors." Legolas motioned to them and the dwarves. "They cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!"

"Then I shall die as one of them!" Aragorn roared in English. He paused as silence over took the room and everyone stared at them. He turned and left.

Legolas went to go after him, but Fili grabbed his arm. "Let him go, master elf. Let him be."

"You really believe we're all going to die?" Brynn questioned. Deep down, so did she, but she would never act on that belief or say it out loud.

"How can we not?" Legolas still had bitterness in his voice. "You and your brothers have faced death and survived too many times, lady dwarf. You are numbed."

"Numbed? No, we are not numb to death. We have hope." Fili corrected.

"There is no hope."

"There is _always_ hope." Brynn snapped. She walked away and took a sword from a boy who was about to leave. "This blade is dull, lad. Let me sharpen it for you."

Fili patted Legolas on the back, after his sisters sting. He enjoyed seeing her get angry sometimes; especially when it was with elves. Fili left to help Brynn with her line up of recruits wanting their weapons sharpened.

The trio only managed to slip away from the armoury when there were just a few men left to be outfitted for battle. When they came into open air they found that night had almost fallen, which meant that orcs would soon be at their door. They knew from Theoden that they would be on the wall, shooting with the archers initially and then, if need be, fighting with the foot soldiers later on.

They had decided to make their way to the wall when a horn blew.

"Mahal, what now?" Brynn questioned.

The horn blew again, and Fili gave a reserved smile. "Elves."

They started down the stairs, and were about half way down when Aragorn charged through them, nearly knocking Kili over. Legolas and Gimli followed close behind, though slower and with more caution. The trio didn't bother to run, but still arrived in time to see Aragorn hug the lead elf, who seemed stunned at first but returned the embrace lightly.

"You are most welcome!" Aragorn said, a huge smile on his face.

The elf turned to Theoden. "We are proud to fight alongside men, once more."

Theoden thanked him, then excused himself to go prepare for battle. Gamling gave directions to the elves, and they all left except the leader, who stayed with Aragorn.

The elf looked at the trio. "I see you have acquired more dwarves, Aragorn."

Aragorn noticed the three of them standing off to the side for the first time it seemed. He brought the new arrival over to them. "My friends, this is Haldir, of Lorien. He has come to help us. Haldir, this is-"

Haldir interrupted. "Fili, Kili, and Brynn. Thorin Oakenshield's heirs."

Haldir's knowledge of them disturbed the siblings quite a bit, as they had never met him. It was possible he had seen a picture, but they still didn't like that he knew them and they didn't know him.

"How do you..." Kili trailed off, not sure how to ask.

"The elves know much of the world. Including its people." Haldir smiled. "And Elrond has described you and your antics in Rivendell with great detail."

That bit of information put Fili, Kili, and Brynn at ease. They were famous for their pranks, even amongst the elves.

"You're friends with Elrond, are you?" Fili asked.

Haldir nodded. "He sent me."

"Well, tell him 'hello' from us when you go back, will you?" Kili asked.

"Certainly."

Gamling appeared on the wall above them, leaning over the side. "Aragorn! King Theoden wants you and your friends in position immediately.

The seven warriors looked at each other. The mood darkened quite suddenly at Gamling's words.

"Well," Kili broke the silence. "Good luck to you all. May we see each other again."

The rest murmured agreements, and then they split apart; Haldir and Aragorn to lead the elves, Legolas and Gimli on one part of the wall, and the trio not far away from them.

Fili, Kili, and Brynn had barely got themselves situated, standing in front of all the men in the wall so they could see, when they heard it. Heavy boots steadily stomped out a rhythm that kept to the beat of Brynn's heart. For some reason that made it worse; like it was a force coming specifically to stomp out her life.

A line of torches came out of the darkness, coming ever closer. The light bounced off the Orc armour, giving the first glance of what they were up against. Thunder crashed and lightening flashed, revealing the enormity of the Uruk-hai army.

"Mahal." Brynn gasped, looking at the sea of their enemies with wide eyes.

The Uruk leader stepped up on a rock outcrop to be seen above his soldiers. He raised his sword with an animalistic cry, and the horde stopped its movement toward the wall. Snarls and growls could be heard as the orcs anticipated the slaughter they expected to ensue.

Then there was silence. Deathly, cold silence. Brynn shivered, anticipation giving her chills.

"Archers ready!" Came the cry.

The archers pulled back their bow strings almost in unison. Brynn pulled her arrow back to her cheek bone, arm perfectly straight, years of fighting and training having toned her muscles to hold such a position for a long time. The string burned her cold fingers, but she used the sting as fuel to hold on.

And then it started. The orcs and the Uruks started ramming the butts of their spears and spikes into the ground, and clanging their swords on their shields, until they had a terrifying beat. Brynn, Fili, and Kili had seen it before when orcs and goblins had come to finish Azog's job of killing their uncle in the Battle of Five Armies. It was intimidation, and it worked.

"Keep yourselves, men!" Fili shouted over the racket. "Don't let them inside your heads. Don't let them take your courage!"

The beat quickened until the creatures exploded into shouts, cheers, and snarls.

And arrow flew from the wall and sunk into an Uruk in the front lines.

"Hold!" Kili cried, though he knew it was far too late.

Everyone had frozen. The orc gurgled and fell forward, dead. Brynn's heart pounded. That was bad; that was _not_ supposed to happen.

The orcs roared with anger, baring their teeth at the men. With a cry, the leader thrust his weapon in the air, and the army charged.

"So it begins." Fili said darkly, readying his aim to kill.

 **Dun dun dunnnn. I realize that I promised action and didn't really give it but I thought this chapter went farther then it did! I hope you liked it anyway. And next chapter I swear on Brynn's life that it will be all awesome fighting.**

 **Please let me know what you think!**

 **Next review = next chapter and brownies, cause we all know how awesome those are! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yay! We're back with a BATTLE. I think battles are probably everyone's favourite parts of stories. I know they're mine! Although I'd have to say my other favourite is on the other side of the spectrum, with cute fluffy scenes! :P**

 **LacyTheRomanWerewolf: Glad to see you're back and just as excited as in The Hobbit! I hope you like this! :)**

 **Enjoy!**

Aragorn ordered the elves to shoot at the charging horde, and a rainstorm of arrows sailed over the wall into the army.

"Fire!" Gamling shouted to the men and dwarves.

Another volley of arrows pelted the orcs, but still they advanced. Brynn heard Aragorn give another order to fire, but waited for Gamling to give her consent. She wanted to sink her shaft into the neck of the Orc leader, but he was too far away. Instead, she settled for a particularly arrogant Orc. If there was one thing she hated in the world, it would be arrogance; especially coming from a creature she despised. A few seconds later the Orc was dead on the ground, an arrow protruding from its eye socket.

The Uruk-hai brought large iron ladders forth, loading them with Uruks and then pushing them up with long spears.

"Ladders!" Brynn warned, and the shout was taken up all over the wall.

When the ladders fell against the wall, and a heavy clasp was dropped so they couldn't be pushed off. Unfortunately for the orcs, one ladder landed right in front of Fili, Kili, and Brynn. The three of them worked together and killed or knocked off every opponent before it got a foot on the wall. They were a fierce force to reckon with. Tragedy to all those who faced them. Their blades swung in a rhythm only siblings could master, each taking their turn so no one got hurt and no one got in the way of another.

"Keep 'em busy!" Fili shouted to his siblings, then ducked out of the battle and started lifting the hook. He got it to the point where it was over the wall. "Push!"

Kili and Brynn finished off the orcs on the top rungs and then each grabbed a side and planted their feet, using all their weight to knock the thing over. Brynn yelped as she felt a horrible pinching pressure attacked her shoulder. She looked behind her and saw an orc _biting_ her. An arrow _thunked_ into the orcs skull, and Brynn recognized it immediately as one of Legolas's. Eventually the weight of all the orcs finished the job for them, plummeting to the ground to crush their fellow soldiers. The siblings cheered, clapping each other on their backs.

"It bit me!" Brynn said, obviously angry, examining her throbbing shoulder. It hadn't broken the skin, but it would leave a bruise.

Her brothers didn't have time to look over her new injury. They were instantly busied with more orcs on the wall, spilling into their space from other ladders.

Despite being heavily outnumbered, the men, elves, and four dwarves were doing well. They were getting good at knocking down ladders before they got latched on, and the elves continued to fire arrows into the orcs below.

Brynn beheaded another Orc, then caught the killing blow that was hurtling toward a Rohirrim in time for the man to kill the Orc in stead. She was more stressed about the soldiers dying than she was herself.

"Tago hon dad, Legolas!" (Bring him down)

Aragorns cry was given with such desperation that Brynn instantly sought him out to see what was wrong. The orcs had created a path in their horde that went to the sluice gate, and a lone orc was charging along it with a lit torch.

Legolas fired an arrow, and it the creature in the shoulder. It kept going. Brynn drew an arrow.

"Dago hon! Dago hon!" Aragorn cried.

An Orc crashed into Brynn from the side, and she was thrown to the ground. Her arrow bounced lamely to the ground as her head cracked against the wall. She leapt to her feet, blood dripping from her temple, to see the Orc lunge into the alcove. Not good.

An explosion tore the wall to pieces and threw the boulders into the air just metres from where Brynn and her brothers stood. Brynn was frozen in shock when the dust cloud enveloped her. The ground beneath her feet lurched, and it only took a split second for her to realize what was happening. Their section of wall was falling. She had no time to react, only look at her brothers in fear as they fell, along with the other soldiers on the piece of rock. Fili jumped the gap and turned to help his brother and sister, but they fell too soon, and he lost them in the dust and rain.

Brynn and Kili kept their footing best they could before leaping off the rock when they were close enough to the ground. The footing was slippery and uncertain and they both fell to the mud, debris showering down top of them. When it ended, Brynn pushed herself up from the muck, coughing the dust and water from her lungs. It was a horrible, wet cough; one that made her eyes water. Rocks fell off her as she stood shakily upon her legs.

"Kili!" She screamed, unable to see him. "Kili!"

He didn't respond. He had been right next to her, hadn't he? What if he was trapped under water? Drowning?

She hadn't been to her feet for ten seconds when she was attacked by three orcs. Oh, how she hated those creatures. They brought her to a point where the power of her own anger scared her.

Brynn crushed the enemies in four seconds flat, then turned to search for her brother. She splashed through the water and into the inside of the Deep. Aragorn and Gimli were fighting with the elves, but there was no sign of Kili. She was attacked again. This was definitely a more dangerous place to be than the wall. Brynn finished her kill and then watched as Legolas threw a shield onto the stairs and rode it down, shooting orcs as he went.

"Show off." Brynn muttered.

She felt the air moving before any other signs of attack. A war hammer was swinging towards her from her left side, her assailant behind her. Cheap move. She didn't have time to dodge, but she managed to side step along with the swing of the hammer, so the lack of force as it moved farther than intended cushioned the blow. She also swung her sword up at the last minute to use her own strength to slow the weapon down. She still caught air. It was when she landed that the pain exploded through her core. Multiple ribs had to be cracked. She struggled to catch her breath as the huge Uruk-hai came closer. He took his time, as if knowing she wasn't going anywhere fast. He raised his hammer over his head, preparing for a death blow. Brynn readied herself to lunge out of the way at the last possible second.

As the hammer was just above the Uruk's head, Kili leapt out of nowhere onto it, knocking it off balance and sending it stumbling to the side. He hacked away at it, trying to get far enough in its skin to send a death blow. Brynn scrambled to her feet, grabbing her sword that had been flung a few feet away. She joined the attack, hacking at it's loser body as Kili took on the upper. Eventually they made the Orc fall, and stay down. Kili jumped off it before it hit the ground, coming over to Brynn.

"You alright, darling?" He asked.

"Yes!" Brynn yelled, relief at seeing her brother alive overwhelming her. "I thought you were dead!"

Kili nodded. "So did I."

"Aragorn! Fall back to the Keep!" Gamling said from an unknown location. "Get your men out if there!"

Aragorn looked at the King's commander and nodded. "Na Barad! Na Baraad! Haldir, na Barad!" (To the Keep! Pull back to the Keep!)

Kili turned to Brynn. "That's us. Come on. Let's get to the Keep."

Brynn nodded and they followed the rest of the soldiers draining out of the Hornburg. They had to stop every so often to fight an Orc, but they were otherwise undeterred.

Someone ran past them, knocking Brynn onto the cobblestone.

"Haldir!" The person yelled.

Brynn watched as Aragorn ran up the steps and caught Haldir as he collapsed, blood coming from his back. Brynn got to her feet with Kili's help.

"Brother, cover me!" Brynn said, pulling her boe and arrow from her back. She fired arrow after arrow into orcs that tried to kill Aragorn as he was lost in sadness. She would watch him. She would give him time. It was a precious commodity in battle, but she didn't mind giving it to her friend. Everyone deserved time to mourn a lost brother.

Kili fought around her, keeping himself and his little sister alive. He understood the importance of what Brynn was doing as much as she did.

Aragorn laid Haldir down, and, with a shout of anger, jumped onto an oncoming ladder. He rode it down, killing as he went.

Brynn gave a cry of worry as he left her sight. Anger and sadness made you do reckless things, and there was no one there to stop him.

Kili pulled at Brynn's arm desperately as he was getting overwhelmed with opponents. "Come! There is nothing more we can do."

Brynn looked at the sea of orcs and agreed with her brother. They were almost completely alone, and as much as they wanted to believe they were unbeatable, they wouldn't be able to live in that attack.

They turned, and ran.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Brynn! Kili! Over here!" Fili waved his arm in the air and then stabbed an Uruk through the hole in the doors of the Keep. He didn't look so bad off. He was covered in dust from the explosion, and he had small cuts on the side of his face from debris, but he was alive.

Brynn and Kili pushed through soldiers to stand beside their brother.

"You two fools need to learn how to jump!" Fili yelled, ducking as an arrow flew towards him.

"Or you should just fall with us." Brynn shrugged, pulling an orcs spear through the door and turning it around to use against the creature.

Kili nudged Brynn in the shoulder as he helped a soldier place a beam, only to have it broken down again. "Aragorn's gone up those stairs with Gimli. He's alive."

"Good." Brynn replied, relief showing. Gimli would watch him.

And then, speak of the devil, Gimli appeared with a battle cry - on the other side of the door. Immediately the Uruks were cleared from the front of the causeway. Brynn spotted Aragorn through the hole as well. She wasn't sure that counted as her cousin watching over him, but they were giving the soldiers on the inside time to build a barricade.

"Yes, Gimli!" Brynn cheered. "There's a good chap!"

"Shore up the door!" Theoden yelled, and instantly men started bringing planks and beams.

The dwarves cringed as they watched the soldiers put them up. They certainly were not builders.

"Smart now, men, put them up smart!" Fili shouted.

"That won't hold!" Kili pointed to something that had just been put up.

Theoden watched all this unfold. "Listen to the dwarves, men! They know how to build."

From then on Fili, Kili, and Brynn were in charge of directing the soldiers. They had just about closed up the gap when Theoden approached.

"Gimli! Aragorn! Get out of there!" He yelled, then lifted the last be into place. "Pull everybody back! Pull them back!"

"Fall back!" Gamling ordered. "Fall back! Into the Keep!"

Brynn, Fili, and Kili made sure to stay together in the chaos of retreat. All the men from the gate, as well as the remaining ones from the battlements, filed into the hall of the Keep. When they were sure no one else was coming, they began to barricade the door with everything they could find. Brynn took burning candles off a bookcase and extinguished them so Fili and Kili could tip the books off and carry it to the doors.

Theoden stood in the midst of it all. "The fortress is taken. It is finished."

Brynn fought the urge to shush him of his despair and helped a soldier move things across the room. Having their own King ready to give up would not help the men at all. And when they were at the point they were, they couldn't afford low morale.

"You said this fortress would never fall while your men defend it!" Aragorn said, moving a table with Legolas. "They still defend it! They have died defending it!"

His words did not help. The kind was lost in his mind, too stunned to speak. That was almost as dangerous as the army at their gates.

"Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?" Fili asked, coming close to Theoden. The King didn't answer, and Fili grew frustrated. "Is there no other way?"

Finally, Gamling spoke. "There is one passage. It leads into the mountains. But they will not get far, the Uruk-hai are too many."

Aragorn jumped on the news. "Send word for the women and children to make for the mountain pass. And barricade the entrance!"

"So much death." Theoden muttered as Gamling went to fulfill his orders. "What can men do against such reckless hate?"

Brynn came over. "We can _fight_." She urged.

"Ride out with me." Aragorn said. "Ride out and meet them.

Theoden seemed to come out of his depression, and a light of determination shown in his eyes once more. "For death and glory."

Kili clasped a hand on Theoden's should. "For Rohan. For your people. We will not wait here like lambs for the slaughter. We will show them that the race of men will not give up."

Gimli ran over. "The sun is rising."

Brynn looked up to the window. A soft light was fighting it's way into the hall. If Gandalf kept his word, that meant that there was still some hope. Maybe they would live to fight again.

"Yes. Yes!" Theoden exclaimed. "The Horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the Deep one last time!"

Gimli jumped to the task, running up the stairs to where the horn was kept. Brynn called for their mounts, and they all prepared for one last charge, if that was what it would be. If this was to be the end, it would be a proud one.

Theoden put on his helmet, looking at those who would ride with him. "Let this be the hour we draw swords together. Fell deeds await. Now for wrath! Now for ruin! And a red dawn!"

Gimli gave a great blast on the horn, and all who heard it - man, dwarf, and elf - were given a new hope for the day.

"Forth Eorlingas!" Theoden cried, and the charge burst forth with courage. They crashed out of the Keep and into the Hornburg, slashing the Uruk's there and continuing down the causeway straight into the waiting army. None coul withstand their fury. None could stay their swords.

The sun broke through the clouds even more, causing the Uruk's to shudder. Brynn looked to the east, into the glorious days of light. There, against the rising sun, was a lone white rider.

"Gandalf." She breathed. He had kept his word.

Brynn turned to the Orc attempting to kill her and returned the sentiment.

"Eomer!" She heard the King cry, and followed his gaze towards Gandalf. Now the wizard was not alone. Another rider was beside him, and behind them an army on horses.

"To the King!"

And the Rohirrim charged. The sight took Brynn's breath away. Hundreds of horses thundering down the hill at dangerous speed, coming to their aid. When the horses and Uruk-hai clashed Brynn forced herself to focus more. Protect the king, protect herself, and keep an eye on her brothers.

The arrival of the reinforcements gave them new energy, and the orcs had no chance. It was almost like they had given up. Brynn found it joyously easy to mow through the creatures. It was almost fun, like there were no consequences. She swirled and slashed, gracefully adding orc after orc to her kill count.

She ended up pitted against a particularly skilled Uruk, and she found it thrilling. It actually kept up with her for awhile. It had two swords, but Brynn only needed one. It was fast paced, and it gave Brynn great joy to finally run it through will a yell of triumph.

Before Brynn knew it, only a few Uruk's stood, and they were being taken care of quickly by the soldiers.

"Victory!" Theoden yelled, sword raised high in the air. "We have victory!"

The entire army _erupted_ in cheers. Soldiers who had never met before were hugging, others were weeping mixed tears of joy and sadness. One thing that was common in everyone, however, was the excitement. Thi victory was proof that they could defeat Sauron. They had taken many an Uruk life that day, and they wanted more.

 **Yay! I can't even imagine the thrill of winning that battle against all odds. Like I said, that's my favourite part of the movies/books! It's so exciting and heroic. And it also brings Eomer into the story to stay, and I LOVE him. He might be my favourite LOTR character. Any other Eomer fans out there?**

 **Anyway, reviews are my favourite thing, so please let me know what you think of the chapter!**

 **:)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Sorry this is so late. I haven't felt very motivated lately.**

 **I'm glad you all liked the last chapter and the battle! It was really fun to write.**

 **This chapter is a bit slower paced, but we get to meet Eomer (swoon) and we get to go to Orthanc, so that's fun!**

 **NarniaTolkienNerd: Eomer and Eowyn are a very cute sibling pair! I love it in the movie when he threatens Grima for stalking her. And I'm glad you liked the elvish! It's such a beautiful language I couldn't possibly leave it out!**

 **Enjoy guys!**

The work of sorting the Uruk-hai, the dead, and the wounded from each other began almost immediately. You couldn't really wait when some men could be bleeding out. It was a grim task. While many had survived, many also had died.

Brynn was accustomed to the smell of a battlefield; that didn't make it any easier to stomach. Every time she stumbled upon the body of a child or an old man she felt sicker. It had been necessary to recruit them - the near loss was proof of that. But in Brynn's mind it was still wrong.

She stepped carefully through the mud, hoping not to step on a weapon or trip and fall on one. She was about to sidestep an Uruk body when she realized there was a body of a Rohirrim underneath it. A very young Rohirrim, by the size of his body. With a sigh, she knelt down into the dirt and muck. She was already filthy, and this wouldn't change much. Brynn steeled herself. She didn't want to see another life stolen too early. But it was her duty, and she would preform it. Brynn pushed the Uruk-hai off the boy. The small face was almost too dirty to make out, but Brynn recognized it. She wished she hadn't, for it sent pains through her heart. It was Arlan, her young fighter. His eyes were open, and even though there was no life behind them they were still filled with fear. Brynn bit her tongue against the pain of death and closed his eyelids. She didn't want to see the glimpse of the horror he had felt before his end. The wound on his stomach was so gruesome Brynn had to rip a cloak from another body to cover it before she vomited. She held Arlan in her lap, ignoring the blood, and rocked him. He was too young to die. Too young, too full of life... Too brave.

"Did you know him?" A voice asked softly.

Brynn looked up at Eomer, nephew of the King. "Yes. A little."

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "He's too young." She whispered, looking once again to Arlan's round face.

The pain in Eomer's eyes showed he understood her sorrow. Nothing could heal this hurt. Two soldiers came up to them, obviously waiting to take the body from Brynn.

Eomer knelt beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Is it alright for them to take him?"

Brynn took a deep breath. "Yes." The soldiers leaned down and lifted Arlan from her arms. "Make sure you clean him up before his mother sees him." Brynn ordered, already choking up at the idea of the boy's mother and sister facing this death.

One if the soldiers nodded. "Yes, m'am."

They walked away and Brynn stood to her feet, wiping her hands on her pants, as if that would clean them.

"Where do you hail from, lady dwarf?" Eomer asked.

"Erebor." Brynn replied, slightly shocked he didn't know.

"Erebor? Neat place... My goodness." Eomer seemed to realize. "Are you Princess Brynn?"

Brynn smiled. "Yes. And my brothers are here as well. King Thorin did not want your uncle to think we had overlooked your plight."

"Thorin sent all his heirs? That is an immense show of friendship!" Eomer exclaimed.

"Now see, that is the response we were hoping from the king." Brynn murmured, watching the body of Arlan be carried out of sight. The cloak Brynn had draped over him dropped away, and his wound became visible, making Brynn gag involuntarily.

Eomer stepped in front of her view. "And you are his best warriors, are you not?"

Brynn wiped her eyes. "Some of them. You are trying to distract me, and I thank you for the attempt." But now she wanted the focus off her.

"Was I that conspicuous?"

"Do not worry, m'lord. Ah, look, your uncle approaches."

And so he was. Theoden had the stoic appearance that was respectful for the dead and mourning, but you couldn't erase the gleam of victory from his eyes. Brynn didn't blame him at all. It was a time of mixed emotions.

"Eomer!" Theoden called. "I see you have met the Lady Brynn of Erebor. I ride to Isengard. Will you come with me?"

"Of course, uncle."

Theoden looked to Brynn. "Your brothers are coming. I assume you will as well?"

"I shall, m'lord." Brynn nodded.

Isengard was Saruman's home. She wanted to see the blasted wizard responsible for all the death she was seeing. And if she got the chance, and if no one stopped her, she just might kill him.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Fangorn Forest. Brynn had heard of it, but she never really expected to actually see it. Now here she was, guiding her pony out of the grass and into the roots and underbrush. Most people assumed that dwarves either didn't like or were uncomfortable in forests. Maybe they thought that because elves normally dwelled in forests, or because the woods were just so unstable compared to their mountains. In reality there had only been two forests in her entire life that Brynn didn't like - The Death Wood and Mirkwood, and that was because they were unnatural and filled with unpleasant things. So when she entered Fangorn, with its moving trees that spoke and thought and could get angry, she was slightly uncomfortable. They rode in a line; Gandalf, the two men of Rohan, the trio, and then the three hunters bringing up the rear.

"Gandalf," Brynn called, causing Theoden and Eomer to glance over their shoulders. "This won't be like my experience in Mirkwood, will it?"

This caused Gandalf to laugh. "No, my dear Brynn, this is much safer. For one, I am here. For another, there are no giant spiders."

"And no elves." Kili said nonchalantly, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Be aware, master dwarf, that elves are friends to trees." Legolas spoke from behind them without hesitation. "Allies even."

"Are you implying something, _master_ elf?"

Gandalf chuckled. "And do not forget, Brynn, that you hate orcs and so do they. That makes you good in their eyes."

"Well, that's nice." Brynn replied, looking up into the treetops in relief. "You have eased my mind, Gandalf."

It wasn't too much longer before they saw the end of the forest. That was when they heard laughter. Not evil laughter or insane laughter, like you might expect in such a place, but carefree, joyous laughter. Brynn wasn't sure who in Isengard would be making such a noise, but her question was soon answered. Hobbits.

Two brown, curly haired hobbits sat on a large boulder, eating, drinking, and smoking. When they spotted the riders, one of them stood up, plucking the pipe from his mouth and spreading his arms wide.

"Welcome, my lords," He spotted Brynn in the back. "And lady, to Isengard!"

Gimli spluttered. "You young rascals! A merry hunt you've led us on and now we find you feasting, and-and smoking!"

"We are sitting in a field of victory enjoying a few well earned comforts." The hobbit still sitting informed him. "The salted pork is particularly good."

"Salted pork?!" Gimli exclaimed, unbelieving.

"Come now, Gimli, you must always celebrate after victory." Brynn teased. Hobbits were some of her favourite people and these two seemed quite the pair.

The sitting hobbit raised his cup to her. "Thank you, my lady! May I have your name?"

"Princess Brynn, of Erebor." Brynn bowed her head.

The hobbits gaped at her, then Fili and Kili. Apparently they had heard of Thorin's heirs.

"It's a pleasure!" The standing hobbit cried. "Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took."

"Or Merry and Pippin." Added Pippin.

"We are cousins of Frodo Baggins." Said Merry.

"Distantly." Added Pippin.

"So we're related to Bilbo." Said Merry.

"Distantly." Added Pippin.

Kili cleared his throat of a laugh. "Well, it is nice to meet any relation of our burglar."

"Yes, yes, all well and good. What are you doing?" Gandalf asked, seemingly impatient but with a gleam in his eye.

"We are under orders from Treebeard, who's taken over management of Isengard." Merry waved his hand toward the giant tower.

"Has Saruman come down?" Theoden asked, holding his horse steady.

"Not yet." Pippin answered. "He's quite upset."

"Then we must go to him."

Merry and Pippin climbed up behind Aragorn and Eomer to come along for the ride. They headed for Orthanc, their horses and ponies wading through the flood. The ents had certainly gotten their revenge. Treebeard joined the procession at some point, telling a short (though it took long to speak) version of their battle. The slow, heavy breathing way of talking was not what Brynn had expected, though she wasn't sure what she expected of a tree.

"I'm glad you've come, young Master Gandalf." Treebeard breathed.

Brynn sent a startled look to Fili. "How old is he that he's calling Gandalf young?" She whispered.

Fili smiled with an awed shake of his head. "Who knows."

Treebeard was still talking. "Wood and water, stock and stone I can master, but there is a wizard to manage here locked in his tower."

They arrived at the base of Orthanc. It was dizzying to try and stare up its height, but they did so none the less.

"Show yourself." Aragorn spoke, looking up.

"Careful." Gandalf warned. "Even in defeat, Saruman is dangerous."

"Well then, let's just have his head and be done with it." Gimli said, and Brynn fought the urge to cheer.

"No. We need him alive. We need him to talk."

As if he heard them, Saruman appeared at the top of the tower. He looked haggard, but his robes were still a pristine white. He looked even more cruel than Brynn had imagined. How such a powerful man who was once so good could turn bad, she didn't know, but it scared her. He was once a friend of Gandalf's. How had Sauron convinced him to betray the world he'd sworn to protect?

"You have fought many wars and slain many men, Theoden King, and made peace afterwards. Can we not take council together as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace, you and I?"

Brynn bit her tongue to keep from interrupting and saying something that would put them all in danger. How dare he talk of peace while the people of Rohan suffered from the loss he'd brought upon them. She hoped that Theoden didn't take the talk.

Theoden sat strong on his mount. "We shall have peace. We shall have peace when you answer for the burning of the Westfold and the children that lie dead there! We shall have peace when the lives of the soldiers whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg are avenged! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows, we shall have peace!"

Saruman spat and replied with wrath, but Brynn could only stare at the King of Rohan. She hadn't expected such strong words. Thorin had respected Theoden greatly; that was why he sent her and her brothers to Rohan instead of Gondor. Brynn had believed her uncle that Theoden was a man of honour and strength, but now she saw it for herself. She was glad to follow him.

Saruman and Gandalf had been arguing, but now the turned wizard held up a strange ball. It was black and alluring, and Brynn wondered what it could possibly be. It had to be something magical - and therefore dangerous - because Gandalf didn't look happy to see it. He rode forward, staring Saruman down.

"You are all going to die!" Saruman yelled, hatred spewing from his eyes. "But you know this, don't you, Gandalf? You cannot think this ranger will ever sit upon the throne of Gondor. This exile crept from the shadows will never be crowned king."

Brynns hand twitched at the edge of her bow. Saruman was making her more angry with him than she already was. But she couldn't shoot him. Not yet. She leaned over to Aragorn, drawing his attention away from Saruman.

"You do not listen to him. All he says is poison and lies." She said quietly, earnestly.

Aragorn nodded slowly, but didn't answer, for Gimli shouted.

"I've heard enough! Shoot him! Stick an arrow in his gob!"

Legolas pulled an arrow, as did Brynn and Kili.

"What say, lads, closest to his non-existent heart gets 20 gold from each?" Brynn proposed, adjusting her aim ever so slightly.

"Thirty." Legolas countered.

"No!" Gandalf ordered them, then turned back to his once friend. "Come down, Saruman, and your life will be spared!"

"Save your pity and your mercy! I have no use for it!" Saruman pointed his staff at Gandalf and a huge burst of fire kindled in the air. It hit Gandalf in seconds, enveloping him in flames.

"No!" Fili yelled, going to move forward.

Kili nearly fell off his pony lunging to grab the bridle of Filis mount. It was a good thing too, because the flame disappeared and Gandalf and his horse remained unharmed.

"Saruman, your staff is broken!" Gandalf yelled, completely unfazed by the attack.

The shards of Saruman's staff fell from his hand and into the water in front of the riders. He was powerless now. A greasy man appeared behind Saruman, cowering and watching the scene. Brynn wondered how such a lowly man could make his way into the house of a wizard.

"Grima!" Theoden called to the man, shocking Brynn that he knew the creature. "You need not follow him! You were once a man of Rohan. Come down."

"A man of Rohan?" Saruman scoffed at the idea. "What is Rohan but a thatched barn? The victory at Helms Deep does not belong to you, Theoden Horse Master. You are a lesser son of greater sires!"

Theoden ignored the petty insults. "Grima! Come down! Be free of him!"

"Free? He will never be free!"

"No!" Grima yelled, anger seizing him.

Saruman turned on his servant. "Get down, cur!" He slapped the man to the ground.

Gandalf tried to restore order from the ground. "Saruman! You were deep in the enemies council. Tell us what you know!"

The dark wizard spun around, robes flaring. "You withdraw your guard and I will tell you where your doom will be decided. I will not be held prisoner here!"

Grima rose up behind Saruman and drew a knife from his cloak. Brynn re-pulled her arrow but hesitated. Was this not what she wanted? The wizard's death? How could she save the life of someone who had murdered so many? But Gandalf wanted him alive, and Theoden wanted him alive, and she would follow orders.

In the time she hesitated, though it was only a few seconds, Grima sunk his blade into Saruman's back, then again. Legolas glanced quickly at Brynn, who was frozen, with confusion before pulling an arrow and firing straight into Grima's heart. It was too late; Saruman fell from the tower, tumbling head over heel, over and over again. Brynn relaxed her bow and looked away right before he was impaled on a great wheel. It turned from the weight, and the body sunk below the murky water.

Brynn returned her arrow to her quiver and her bow to her back. She had failed.

Pippin slid off of Aragorn's horse and waded in front of Brynn's pony.

"Pippin!" Aragorn called, but the hobbit kept moving.

Pippin stopped at an unremarkable point in the water, staring into the murk. He leaned down, reaching for something. When he stood straight, he was holding the odd orb that Saruman had had.

"Bless my bark!" Treebeard cried.

Gandalf acted quickly. He rode over to Pippin and held out his hand. "Peregrin Took. I'll take that, my lad. Quickly now!"

Pippin gave it to Gandalf reluctantly, obviously awed by the ball. Gandalf wrapped it in part of his cloak quickly. Though it wasn't obvious, Brynn could see it on his face; that stone was dangerous, and he didn't like having it.

"Come, let us go back to Edoras." King Theoden said. "The people will have already started on their way."

Brynn spurred her pony to ensure she could ride beside Gandalf. The wizard eyed her, knowing what she wanted but showing no inclination to address it. Brynn waited until they were out of Fangorn to ask, hoping Gandalf would speak first. He didn't, and she resigned herself to starting the odd conversation.

"What is that, Gandalf?" She asked, looking at the wrapped ball in his lap. "Your actions spoke, I know it is dangerous... But what is it?"

Gandalf sighed. "It is called a palantir. It's a communications device."

Brynn raised an eyebrow. "That big rock?"

Gandalf smiled at her. "Dear Brynn, you once crossed a river that put people to sleep. This should not surprise you."

Brynn bowed her head with a grin in acceptance of that. He was right. With the amount of odd things she'd seen and experienced in her life, this should be no shock to her.

"Long ago there were many such seeing stones." Gandalf continued. "But they were lost. We could not know who had them all, but we know now that Sauron has one."

"That is how Saruman spoke with him?"

Gandalf nodded. "Spoke, yes, in a way. I do not want this in my possession while Sauron lives, but we cannot risk someone else finding it. I have told you this in confidence, Brynn. No one else can know. Curiosity and foolishness could be the end of us."

"Of course, Gandalf." Brynn hesitated. She didn't like keeping important information from her brothers.

Gandalf started chuckling at her, and Brynn snapped her eyes to his wizened face.

She frowned. "What?"

"Your brothers may know."

Brynn smiled bashfully. He did know her well. "Thank you."

Brynn halted her pony and let the others pass her until she was with Fili and Kili once again.

"Did you ask Gandalf about the rock?" Kili asked.

"Do you know me at all?" Brynn smiled.

Fili patted her on the back. "You are on top of things, aren't you?"

"Well, one of us has to be." Brynn said. "Anyway, Gandalf told me that basically that is a communications device to Sauron."

"Hold on. So Sauron can see what we're doing right now?" Kili asked, alarmed at the idea of such a villain being able to look into their lives.

"Well, right now he could only see the inside of Gandalf's cloak." Brynn laughed, and her brothers joined in, put at ease. "We have to make sure no ordinary person finds out about it. Just in case they have an urge to do something idiotic."

Kili rolled his eyes. "Someone would."

 **Whelp, here comes the palantir! It's honestly one of my favourite parts of the movie, when Pippin 'speaks' to Sauron. It's such an intriguing thing. And also I love it when Aragorn's got a hold of it and Legolas is supporting him. Friendship at its finest! ;)**

 **Question Time: Whats your favourite friend pair from The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings? I'd love to hear! I think mine has to be Thorin and Dwalin or Legolas and Aragorn!**

 **Next review gets a new chapter! please tell me what you guys think!**

 **Next chapter has a drinking competition, AND the palantir scene. Fun times!**

 **You all are the best! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for the response! Here is the next chapter. It's not my favourite, but I still like it. It's slower, but let's be honest, our poor heroes need a break from the battle. :)**

 **LacyTheRomanWerewolf: Honestly I can't blame her either. I always felt that Saruman deserved his death, but I guess they could have used him for information!**

 **aussieKayz: Thanks for answering my question! Fili and Kili is a good answer, and I have no idea why they didn't come to mind, since I write about them so much lol. Oh well!**

 **Enjoy!**

It was late in the night, but in the Golden Hall energy was high. All the soldiers had gathered for a victory celebration. It was important to enjoy the wins, and have fun while they could. Otherwise, moral dropped low.

The trio had never been to a victory celebration of men, and weren't exactly sure what to expect. Dwarvish and men culture were very different from each other. But it started off very much the same as they had been to. Remembrance of the dead.

Eowyn walked towards the King and knelt, offering him a goblet of wine. He took it and she stood behind him.

"Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country." Theoden raised his cup in a toast. "Hail, the victorious dead."

The soldiers raised their glasses. "Hail!"

Brynn approached Aragorn, who was still standing solemnly in the same place. She knew what he was thinking of. It was easy for her to move on past the battle, for she hadn't lost anyone other than Arlan, whom she had only know a little bit. But he had lost a friend. She knew how she would feel if she had lost one of her brothers.

"To Haldir." She raised her glass a little higher. "Who gave his blood for a country not his own."

Aragorn tapped his glass against Brynn's. "To Haldir."

Brynn gave him a small smile. "He did not die in vain. We'll make sure of that."

"Even though he was an elf?" Aragorn asked, though there was no animosity in his voice.

Brynn shrugged. "The only elves I've ever hated were Mirkwood elves."

"Legolas is not like his father."

Brynn narrowed her eyes in curiosity. "Maybe not. We'll see, won't we?"

Aragorn opened his mouth to reply, but a call interrupted him.

"Lady Brynn!"

Brynn tuned around. Eomer was looking at her, filling mugs up with ale. Legolas, Gimli, Fili, and Kili were around him, along with some Rohirrim.

Eomer beckoned her with a wave of his hand. "Come, you'll like this."

Brynn grinned and walked over, resting her palms on the table.

"No pauses, no spills." Eomer said, putting a mug down.

"And no regurgitation!" Gimli added joyfully.

Brynn laughed. "A drinking game!"

"Aye!" The Rohirrim laughed.

"Last one standing wins?" Fili asked, clearing the rules.

"Of course!" Eomer replied.

Brynn wiped her hands off. This was bringing back memories. She couldn't not participate in a drinking game. Not with her family history. It would just be wrong. But then again, it would leave her nearly incapacitated in the morning. She hesitated.

"Come on, Brynn. When have we refused unlimited drinks?" Kili asked, giving her a little push with his hand.

"Alright." Brynn relented. "But if I stop early it's not because I can't hold my ale. I don't want to miss the rest of the party. Or be useless on the morrow!"

"She's in, lads!" Eomer shouted.

The crowd cheered. It appeared they liked watching the game as much as participating. The way it was looking, with the atmosphere and the crowd and the cheering, Brynn would be dead drunk before she gave up, no matter what she had said. She always had been competitive.

"Enough talking." Kili declared. "Let's drink!"

All five of them, the four dwarves and, to Brynn's surprise, Legolas, picked up a tankard and started drinking. The dwarves had finished their first mug before Legolas, but he grabbed the next drink soon after them. Brynn nearly snorted her ale when Kili started poking her in the ribs to distract her. She swatted him playfully, never lowering her drink.

Brynn wasn't sure how many mugs of ale she had downed anymore. Like she had guessed, she had stuck to the game for longer than she was going to. Every time she looked at her next drink with slight reluctance, the surrounding soldiers cheered her on. How could she let them down? So there she was, picking up mug after mug as Eomer poured them.

Gimli laughed, drunkenly. "Heh, heh, heh. It's the dwarves that go swimming with little hairy women."

Brynn coughed at that, but swallowed the last mouthful and put the mug down, wiping her upper lip of foam and picking up another tankard.

"I feel something." She heard Legolas say. "A slight tingling in my fingers. I think it's affecting me."

"What did I say?" Gimli laughed, words slurring. "He cannot hold his liquor."

Brynn heard a loud thump and knew Gimli had passed out. She finished her drink and put the cup down with a loud clunk.

"Hold on!" She said, pointing a finger at Legolas. "If he's only got a tingle in his wee fingers, I'm out!"

"Aye." Fili agreed, motioning to him and Kili. "We're with her."

Brynn wobbled a little bit as a wave of dizziness hit her hard. She hated this part. Eomer caught her arm to steady her.

"You alright, Lady Brynn?"

"Mahal, drop the 'lady'." Brynn rolled her eyes. "And I can hold my ale, thank you very much!"

Eomer laughed. "Of course you can."

The trio thanked Eomer for the game and begrudgingly congratulated Legolas (they said it was cheating) and then left the ale table. They had had enough for one night.

They heard singing. What's more, they heard a familiar song. It was a song that Bilbo had taught them on the way to Erebor, so many years ago. They sang it often, because they liked it so much and because they liked to be reminded of their burglar. Now, Merry and Pippin were singing it, dancing atop a table.

"You can drink your fancy ales, you can drink them by the flagon," They sang, as the trio neared. They couldn't help but join in. "But the only brew for the brave and true, comes from the Green Dragon!"

The men cheered, and the hobbits looked absolutely joyous that the dwarves knew the song.

"You know it?" Merry asked, excited.

"Aye, Bilbo taught us!" Kili answered.

"Oi! Do the one you do in Rivendell!" Pippin clambered off the table and Merry followed.

"Yes, you must!" Merry added pressure. "Bilbo taught it to us, but it would be much better if you did it."

"We'll do it." Brynn said. "But only if you sing with us."

"Well, we don't know it that well, m'lady." Merry said bashfully.

The trio doubted that was true, but they let it slide.

"That's alright. Sing along when you know it, yeah?" Kili suggested.

The hobbits agreed wholeheartedly, and stood on the bench while the dwarves took on the table top.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Brynn yelled, opening her arms wide. "We now treat you to a dwarvish tavern song."

The men cheered, and the trio grinned. They did love to put on a show. And this was even better, with a crowd of people of a different race.

Kili pointed to the men playing music. "Would you be so kind as to lend us two fiddles?"

They were given to them. Fili and Kili took the instruments, doing a few practice scales to warm up. Brynn cleared her throat and nodded to her brothers, who began to stamp their feet in a rhythm, and a few seconds later starting playing.

"There's an inn, there's an inn, there's a merry old inn, beneath and old grey hill," Sang Brynn, foot tapping and hands gesturing. "And there they brew a beer so brown that the Man in the Moon himself came down one night to drunk his fill."

With that Fili tossed his fiddle to Brynn, who caught it midair and instantly started playing. They switched spots.

"The ostler has a tipsy cat, that plays a five string fiddle, and up and down he saws his bow, now squeaking high," Fili held the note, and Kili and Brynn sawed quick, high strokes. "Now putting low," Same thing, but slow, low strokes. "Now sawing in the middle."

Fili and Kili switched - using the same throwing-the-fiddle trick as earlier - as Brynn returned to the usual tune.

"So the cat in the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle, a jig that would wake the dead. He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tube, while the landlord shook the Man in the Moon;" The fiddles stopped and they all joined in. "It's after three he said!"

Fili and Brynn threw the fiddles to the owners, all three of them grabbed an ale from a bystander, and then they clinked them together - Fili and Kili put a hand on the back of Brynn's thighs and thrust her into the air, and they all simultaneously downed their tankards.

The soldiers cheered and clapped and laughed, and Fili and Kili put Brynn down again. Merry and Pippin were nearly bouncing with joy.

"You'll teach us more songs, won't you? So we can take them back to the Shire?" Pippin asked.

"Of course!" Fili said, patting them each on the back. "And you'll have to teach us some to take to Erebor. We like to collect songs."

"Oh, we've got some good ones." Merry exclaimed, and you could practically see him writing a list in his head.

The soldiers were calling for an encore, but Fili, Kili, and Brynn were sung out. Maybe if they hadn't just participated in a drinking contest they'd be okay, but the ale was catching up to them and they were feeling a bit wobbly. So they beckoned the hobbits back up and the soldiers gave them a warm welcome back.

So the siblings sat, tapping their feet and clapping their hands, enjoying the bit of happiness they got before it was back to war.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The party was finished, though no one really wanted it to be. It was late, and they all needed to sleep so they'd get to be at least partially alive in the morning.

Fili, Kili, and Brynn were taking a few minutes on a balcony of the Golden Hall to take some water. It would help combat the alcohol in their bodies.

"That was a good night." Brynn commented, taking another gulp of water. "A good night to make up for the not so good morning."

Fili nodded solemnly. "I spoke to Arlan's mother when we got back."

Brynns eyes darkened at the memory of the bloody young boy. "How is she?"

"She's fighting to seem strong. Poor Arya has not stopped crying." Fili sighed. "All I could say were the usual worthless things. He saved lives. He fought for his country. And died for it." He growled. "Blasted Saruman."

Brynn cringed at the name she wanted to forget. She had allowed murder for her personal gain and now their only source of information was gone. She didn't regret that he was dead. He wasn't supposed to die though. There was an unwritten code, that you saved whoever's life was threatened. You didn't get to decide who deserved to live or die, and that was what Brynn had done. Gandalf had wanted Saruman alive. Theoden had wanted Saruman alive. Not to mention he was unarmed. And she had let him die.

Brynn leaned against the railing and tapped her toe against the stone floor. She had to talk to her brothers about it. Clear it up. She didn't like regrets, and she wanted this one dealt with.

"Say... Boys?" Brynn questioned, gaining their attention. "When we were at Isengard, did you notice anything... odd about me?"

"Odd?" Fili asked. "I don't think so... You, Kili?"

Kili didn't answer, and Brynn's heart began to pound. He knew. He knew she had not done her duty as a soldier under Theoden, he knew she had played judge. What he was thinking of her right that second couldn't be good.

Brynn turned around, facing her brother, but he wouldn't look at her. "Kili?"

Kili frowned. "You hesitated, Bree. You had the shot, you had the time. I didn't pull because you had it. But you didn't shoot."

Brynn nodded. "I know."

"But Brynn... If you had the shot, why didn't you take it?" Fili asked.

"I wanted him to die." Brynn gave a sad smile. "And I was about to save his life. It felt so wrong. But Gandalf wanted him alive, and Theoden wanted him alive. I'm under oath to follow him. And Saruman was unarmed, and unprepared. I froze, and by the time I unfroze it was too late."

"Everyone freezes." Fili consoled.

"Not me." Brynn argued. "Uncle Thorin taught us to act on a whim, judge in a second. I good as killed him."

Fili put his hand on Brynn's shoulder. "It was a hard choice."

Brynn shook his hand off, frustration building. "It was right and wrong, we needed him for information! I practically murdered him right after I was ordered not to!"

"No." Kili said, coming out of silence. "You made a mistake, Brynn. You messed up. But you did not murder him. You could have, at any moment. But you didn't. Why?"

"Because it was wrong." Brynn replied.

Kili gave a sharp nod. "There. Now, anyone with a bow could've shot Grima. It was not your fault."

Fili joined Kili's tactic. "Accept your mistake, then move on. Learn, an keep going."

"I should've been ready in case you missed. I messed up too." Kili added.

"I suppose." Brynn said. "But I don't like it."

Kili put his hand on Brynn's face. "No... But you'll be okay. Why don't you sleep on it. Maybe you'll feel better in the morning."

Brynn nodded and turned to Fili and hugged him. "Sorry I snapped at you."

Fili chuckled. "It's alright, Bree. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Brynn left the balcony and went into the room where the warriors from other lands were all sleeping. Gandalf, Merry, and Pippin were already asleep. Brynn tried her hardest not to make noise as she got settled. She was just thankful that her and her brothers had set up their beds earlier. She fell asleep in an instant.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

It couldn't have even been a full hour when Brynn heard something through the fog of sleep. Someone was saying something loudly - not quite yelling, but definitely not whispering - and when Brynn found out who she was going to kill them. After all her efforts to be quiet, they were having a bloody conversation.

"No!"

Brynn's eyes popped open. That was not a conversation. That was fear. She looked over to where she thought the noise had come from. Pippin was holding the palantir, and if that wasn't enough cause to worry, it had completely changed in appearance from that morning. It was orange and glowing and fiery. Pippin was shaking, his mouth open in a soundless scream.

Brynn ripped off her blankets and charged toward the hobbit, grabbing hold of the stone. It released Pippin and latched onto her. Instantly her body grew hot, her muscles seized up, and her mind was filled with horrible images and a whispering voice. Her face contorted in pain. She saw blood. She saw death. She saw her friends speared against a wall like trophies. She saw her mother dead, torn apart by a warg, and Erebor was crumbling at the mercy of Sauron. She fell to her knees as searing pain tore through her body and mind, slowly breaking her strength. He - Sauron himself - was ripping at her mind, trying to find information.

"Help! Gandalf! Help!"

Brynn felt her will slipping. She could feel herself start to give in to the pain - give in to Sauron's questions. And then someone was holding her shoulders, keeping her steady, lending her strength. She resisted Sauron once more, and it made him angry. The pain in her head intensified. She heard a scream; a raw, throaty scream. It took her a second to realize it came from her mouth.

"Brynn!" One of her brothers.

"Don't touch it!" Gandalf.

"She's our sister!"

She screamed again as the pain overcame her and an image of Thorin with his head split open scarred her mind.

And then she was free. When the palantir was out of her hands she fell to the side, but someone caught her, keeping her off the floor. Gandalf had wrapped the palantir back in his cloak, and now held it close to him. He put it down and ran over to Pippin. Whoever was holding her gave her to Fili. She was on her back in his lap so she could see all around. Kili and Legolas were there. They all looked worried, and she wished she could tell them she was okay. She just couldn't speak yet. She was stunned. Her mind kept going back to her mother and Thorin, bloody and lifeless.

Aragorn came over with a canteen of water and gave it to Fili, who helped Brynn sit up and drink.

Brynn quenched her thirst and rubbed her throbbing head. Then it dawned on her. She didn't know why she found it important or why it was the one thing to pop into her head at that moment, but it was. Whoever had held her shoulders and caught her when she fell had not been one of her brothers. It had not been them, and it wasn't Gandalf, and it wasn't Aragorn. Gimli was with Pippin, so that left...

Brynn looked to Legolas, who sat a bit farther off. "You helped me?"

Legolas nodded.

"Thank you." Brynn said earnestly. She wouldn't have been able to resist Sauron's questions much longer if it hadn't been for him.

"Bree, what was that?" Kili asked, looking at the cloak covered ball with contempt.

"Well, it's definitely a communication device. And Sauron definitely has one. Valuable find, aye?"

Fili smiled. "Well, you're awfully chipper for a girl who just had a talk with Sauron."

"More like he talked and I tried not to." Brynn grimaced. "He wanted to know about Erebor; its tactics and weaknesses."

"What did you say?"

Brynn smiled at that, despite the soreness of her body and the pain in her head. "Things mama would be ashamed to hear me say."

Kili put a hand on Brynn's head, mock emotion in his eyes. "Uncle has taught you well."

Brynn laughed and ducked her head out of Kili's hold. He swatted at her and she tried to push him over with her foot.

"Alright, you two, settle down." Fili rolled his eyes. "Is that all, Brynn? He just asked you about Erebor?"

Brynn's mind flashed to the cleaved open head of her uncle and the warg torn body of her mother. Her brothers deserved to know about what Sauron had shown her of their home. But if it wasn't true, they would worry for nothing... And it wasn't worth having all three of them anxious.

"Yes," Brynn replied. "He tried to make me break. I didn't."

Kili hugged her. "Of course not. You are a daughter of Durin."

Brynn smiled, though with less happiness than earlier. She had to know what was happening to Erebor.

 **Aaaand that's chapter seven. I'm not overly pleased with it, but I hope you all enjoyed it! I really loved the palantir scene and I like the steady friendship growing among the trio and Legolas!**

 **Question of the chapter: If you could choose a place in Middle Earth to live, where would it be? I think I would choose Rohan! I love Erebor, but I don't know if I could live in a mountain.**

 **Next review gets a chapter. Thank you all for your support!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Wow thank you guys so much for the amazing response! It was well appreciated! You are all so awesome. And it wasn't even that exciting of a chapter. This chapter has some bonding time. I hope you guys like that too! :)**

 **LacyTheRomanWerewolf: Haha, gotta hate those autocorrects! I've caught some fairly embarrassing ones before posting. Thankfully! I'm glad you like the relationship building!**

 **NarniaTolkienNerd: I know, it's so hard to choose! It's all so beautiful. _**

 **Enjoy!**

It was the morning after the incident with the palantir. Theoden, Gandalf, the three hunters, and Thorin's heirs stood in the great hall to discuss things. The mood was grim, making it hard to believe they had been so happy the night before. Brynn's eyes were aching to be shut and she was maybe not in the best possible mood. Lack of sleep did that to a person.

"There was no lie in Pippin's eyes." Gandalf spoke. "A fool, but an honest fool he remains. He saw a glimpse of the enemies plan to strike Minis Tirith, and he told Sauron nothing of Frodo and the Ring."

Kili sighed in relief. "Well, that's some good news for once."

"Indeed." Gandalf nodded. "His defeat at Helms Deep showed him one thing. The heir of Elendil has come forth. Men are not as weak as he supposed. There is courage still. Strength enough, perhaps, to challenge him. Sauron fears this."

Fili frowned. "If he sees how strong Rohan is on its own, he will not risk us joining forces with Gondor. He will raze Minis Tirith to the ground."

"Exactly. If the beacons of Gondor are lit Rohan must be ready for war."

"Tell me!" Theoden said, crossing his arms. "Why should we ride to the aid of those who did not come to ours? What do we owe Gondor?"

Brynn rolled her eyes. "Mahal, would you listen to yourself? Denethor is a despot, drunk with power and self-preservation. He's completely nuts. If his people rode out against him they would have faced treason. It was not Gondor's people that failed you, it was its leader. And it won't be its leader you are saving but its people.

"Do not speak to me of matters you do not understand." Theoden said bitterly.

Kili laughed. "Oh, we understand people not coming to your aid quite well."

"We are royalty, we know the issues." Fili defended his sister as well. "She's right, you cannot abandon the people of Gondor."

"I will hear no more on the matter. You are dismissed."

Brynn pursed her lips in annoyance, and was about to say more when Kili grabbed her arm.

"Remember who we represent. Remember what we are here for." He said quietly.

Brynn huffed and consented, then followe her brothers out the door. The guards closed the doors, and like it closed their chance to save Gondor.

The trio decided to visit the ponies they had used to travel to Helms Deep in their stables, giving them a groom. They deserved it after what they had been through.

"Could he be more pigheaded?" Brynn pushed against her pony when it wouldn't lift its foot. "You know who he reminds me of?"

"Thranduil." Fili answered.

"Exactly!"

"We cannot do anything more. We're under oath to follow him." Kili said, brushing copious amounts of dirt from the ponies coat.

"But we can't sit around and do nothing. That's against our nature." Fili said.

"We have to keep a mind on the politics of this." Kili pointed out.

"Since when are you politically minded?" Brynn asked, whipping her brothers backside with a cloth.

"I don't like it either." Kili smiled, blocking the attack. "I'm just as annoyed as you. We've done a whole lot for Theoden to have him 'dismiss us'."

Just then Gandalf hurried by, followed closely by Merry and Pippin. They all looked worried. What worried Brynn, Fili, and Kili was that the hobbits didn't even stop to say hellos. They didn't acknowledge them in any way.

"I gotta talk to Gandalf." Brynn said shortly, following in the wizards footsteps.

Fili and Kili exchanged confused looks, throwing their hands in the air and then returning to their work.

Brynn approached Gandalf. His back was turned to her, and he was hurriedly brushing Shadowfax, muttering to himself. Merry and Pippin were a ways off, talking in hushed voices.

"Gandalf?"

Gandalf turned, smiling when he saw Brynn. He had obviously been thinking about something serious before she had interrupted.

"I'm sorry." Brynn said. "I don't mean to bother you."

"Not at all, Brynn." Gandalf dismissed it. "I always have time for friends."

Brynn smiled. Gandalf had turned j to an almost grandfather on the long journey to Erebor from Hobbiton. They had spent a lot of time together, Gandalf telling her stories of his past and Brynn talking of just about everything. That was why she trusted him with what she was about to say, and trusted any advice he had.

"I was wondering if you could ease my mind about something." Brynn started.

"I will try my best."

"It's about the palantir."

Gandalf nodded. "You were very brave to take that cursed object from Pippin. I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you." Brynn sighed. "I saw things. Or I guess Sauron showed me things. I saw Erebor crumbling, and my mother and uncle killed. And I was just wondering - I mean... How accurate is it? Has it happened or-or _will_ it happen?"

Gandalf looked at Brynn with sympathy. "Neither."

Brynn didn't understand. "But I saw it! I saw my uncles head split in half, and my mother torn apart by a warg. Surely he couldn't be making that up!"

"He used your mind against you, Brynn. He saw you were snooping so he showed you his plan to break you - make you give him information. But just because Sauron wants something to happen does not mean it will. Like I am going to try to prevent Gondor from destruction, you uncle will not let Erebor fall."

Brynn looked at the ground. "I guess I feel guilty for not being there."

Gandalf put his hand on Brynn's shoulder. "Thorin sent you. He wanted you to be here."

"I know." Brynn sighed, shuffling her feet.

Gandalf smiled at her, then swung into his saddle. From there he lifted Pippin up with him, who had been talking to Merry. The poor hobbits both looked upset.

"But we'll see each other soon?" Pippin questioned of his friend.

"I don't know." Merry answered, backing out of the way of the horse. "I don't know what's going to happen."

"Run, Shadowfax. Show us the meaning of haste." Gandalf ordered his steed, flicking the reigns.

Shadowfax bolted forth like lightening, kicking up dust in his wake.

"Merry!" Pippin cried, attempting to look back at him.

Merry turned and ran from the stables, dodging Brynn's attempts to stop him. She watched him disappear around the corner. He wanted to be alone, so she would let him be for the time being. Until then, she had some explaining to do to her brothers about just what the palantir had shown her.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Things were slow around Edoras. There really wasn't much to be done, especially for those who weren't residents. The trio, therefore, spent a lot of time with Gimli, and consequently Aragorn and Legolas. They made sure to invite Merry along, but often he opted to stay by himself. Depressing, Brynn thought, but she couldn't force him to join them.

This sunny day the six foreign warriors found themselves watching the Rohirrim duel for practice. At some point they had started betting on who would win. Trivial amounts of money, as they didn't have much on them. It was just for fun, something to do while they waited for orders.

Next up were a couple of men who seemed to be fairly evenly matched.

"The one on the left." Gimli chose, slapping his bet down.

Brynn shook her head and flipped her coin in the air, letting it fall next to Gimli's. "The one on the right. Look at his feet; better balance."

Legolas placed his bet. "I agree."

Brynn grinned. "Uh oh. He-elf agrees with me? Better change my pick."

Aragorn blew a ring of smoke from his mouth. "Too late now, Lady Brynn. Rules are rules."

Brynn giggled and turned to watch the match. Aragorn and Fili sided sided Gimli, while Kili agreed with Brynn's point on balance. The match went well for Brynn's soldier, until the very end. He abandoned his footwork in and urge to finish the fight, and it cost him. And Brynn, Kili, and Legolas.

"That was a fools move." Brynn and Legolas groaned at the same time.

Brynn whipped her head around to look at Legolas. "Do you mind?" She asked the elf.

"I will ask the same to you." He replied.

Brynn scowled at him, though it didn't quite have the same malice in it as it usually did.

"This is just proof that you cannot judge by appearances." Fili said with mock wisdom.

"Fili, you won by sheer chance." Brynn rolled her eyes.

"Your words have no bearing, considering you lost." Aragorn said, a sly smile forming around his pipe.

"It was the elf's fault."

"How is it my fault?" Legolas asked.

"It's always the elf's fault." Kili scoffed.

And so the six of them went on for quite awhile. They continued to bet, but with the stakes so low none of them gained or lost a noticeable amount of money.

Eventually though the soldiers were done training and the object of their amusement was gone. The group split into their respective three, with plans to meet up once again for dinner. The trio were getting to be good friends with Aragorn, and they would even admit - with a lot of prodding - that Legolas was less annoying. Which says a lot, coming from them.

The trio went down to the sand ring where Eomer was putting away practice weapons. He glanced up and smiled at them as they approached.

"Greetings, my Dwarven friends." Said he.

"Greetings, Lord Eomer." Brynn replied.

"Come now, if I'm not allowed to call you 'lady', you are not allowed to call me 'lord'."

"Fair enough."

Fili, Kili, and Brynn each picked up a few weapons and put them in the appropriate barrels. It reminded them of helping Dwalin clean up after his training classes. He had been getting them to help since they were four, respectively, and didn't stop even when they truly became royals in Erebor. To him they would always just be the three little rascals who used to bounce around Mister Dwalin.

"Any insight on the training?" Eomer asked.

"Your men have much skill." Kili said.

"Though there is always room for improvement." Fili added.

Brynn rolled a wooden sword around her wrist with a grin. "You should've had them fight us."

Eomer laughed. "A lost opportunity! Next time I suppose."

They started walking towards the Golden Hall. People stared at them as they walked. Brynn had become accustomed to it, but she still didn't like it.

"Why are you training so soon after the battle?" Kili questioned.

"I probably should've given them a rest, but..." Eomer trailed off, looking at the horizon. "They grow restless. They're eager to fight again."

"Aren't we all?" Brynn grumbled before catching herself. Her eyes darted toward Eomer. "Sorry."

Fili slung his arm around her. "We just believe we should go to Gondor."

Eomer nodded grimly. "You and I both."

"Your uncle will not be swayed?" Kili asked hopefully.

"He is stuck on old prejudices between leaders."

"Ah. We know what that's like."

"Except your uncle wouldn't help Laketown because was sick. My uncle is just spiteful." Eomer sighed, rubbing a hand against his tired face. "But I shouldn't speak of him like this."

"We are safe to complain to." Brynn promised.

"Thank you. But I must see to my men."

Some nodded, then left in the direction of the barracks. The trio watched him leave. His shoulders weren't as strong as they had been when he was with his men, and his head hung. He was feeling the effects of sitting on his hands as much as they were.

Brynn crossed her arms, a pensive look on her face. "Maybe we oughta start a rebellion. I bet Eomer would join."

"Brynn..." Fili warned.

Brynn pursed her lips at her brother. "I'm kidding. Uncle gave me a task and I'll complete it."

"Master Fili! Master Kili! Miss Brynn! Come play catch!"

The trio turned around. Up the road stood Eothain and Freda - and a few other kids. Freda clutched a good sized ball of rags all knotted together. Brynn made a mental note to send their young friends real balls when they got back to Erebor. IF they got back to Erebor, she corrected herself with a pang in her heart.

"What say you, boys? Shall we play?" Brynn questioned playfully, already knowing the answer. They couldn't let down the children.

"Let's do it." Kili straightened his shirt.

Fili, Kili, and Brynn ran over to the children, Kili picking up Freda _and_ the ball, sending the girl into a fit of giggles.

 **Fili, Kili, and Brynn always seemed to me like the type of adults who hang out with kids without any restraint or annoyance, so that's why I threw that end in there. I think at the least they'd be very approachable for kids, so that's why Eothain and Freda cakes them over!**

 **QuestionOfTheChapter: If any character from The Hobbit/LOTR could be your best friend, who would it be? (And why, if you so desire to tell!) :)**

 **Thank you all for reading! Next review gets a chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! So sorry for the late late late update. Things got crazy with Christmas prep (seriously, when did it get a week away? Last I checked it was beginning of November...) and then I caught the stomach flu.**

 **Anyway, I'm back! Enjoy!**

Fili, Kili, and Brynn sat on a bench just a short distance from the Golden Hall. Boredom had set in, and they had brought all their weapons with them to sharpen. But they had finished and the different death instruments lay in piles organized by owner.

Brynn missed her mountain. Or more, she missed the people _in_ the mountain. Thorin, and Dis. Sitting still in Edoras made the homesickness come on strong. The only thing that made it better was that her two best friends were with her.

Aragorn ran up to them, giving them a start.

"The beacons are lit!" He exclaimed. "If there's one thing that will sway Theoden, it is this."

Fili, Kili, and Brynn jumped to their feet in an instant. The dwarves had helped build the beacons, and Thorin's heirs had gotten to repair one once, so they knew what they were.

"Does Theoden know?" Brynn asked as she and her brothers scooped up their weapons.

Aragorn was nearly bouncing. "No. Come, we will tell him."

He took off again, leaving the siblings to keep pace. It was a short distance to the Hall. Aragorn took the stairs two at a time and shoved the double doors open at the top. The trio left their weapons beside a guard (Fili warned him with an intimidating glare not to lose them) and were just in time to hear Aragorn's declaration to the king and his men.

"The beacons of Minis Tirith! The beacons are lit!" He controlled himself. "Gondor calls for aid."

All eyes turned to Theoden for a reply. There was hesitation in his eyes. Brynn held her breath.

"And Rohan will answer! Muster the Rohirrim." Theoden turned to Eomer. "Assemble the army at Dunharrow, as many men as can be found. You have two days."

Eomer bowed to his King and left.

Theoden turned back and looked at Brynn, continuing to speak. "On the third, we ride for Gondor, and for war."

Brynn smiled at him, before turning to her brothers. "I suppose we better ready ourselves."

"My lords and lady," Gamling called, walking with the trio to collect their weapons. "Will your ponies keep pace?"

The trio froze. At once, all three made a face and said, "Blast!"

Fili shook his head. "We'll take horses."

Gamling nodded. "Yes, my lord. They will be ready for you."

"Thank you, Gamling." Brynn said.

Gamling left and the siblings continued to strap on their weapons. It did take them awhile to do, as many of them were hidden in their bodies.

Kili gave a huge sigh, and grumbled. " _Horses_."

There was a seconds pause before Fili and Brynn burst into laughter.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fili, Kili, Brynn, Legolas, and Gimli stood by their horses, getting ready for the ride to Gondor. Gamling had gotten three horses for Thorin's heirs. They were all rather tall, and definitely powerful beasts. The siblings shortened the stirrups and did a couple other adjustments, and that was that. They would do fine on horses. They'd ridden them before, it was just that they felt small on them and they didn't like it.

Merry found them in the crowd, his little sword (more a knife for the warriors) banging against his leg and a huge smile on his face. Brynn hadn't seen him that happy since Pippin was with him.

"Lady Brynn!" He cried. "King Theoden has made me an esquire of Rohan!"

Brynn grinned. "Congratulations, Merry! There is none more deserving."

"Aye." Kili clapped Merry on the back. "You have shown your bravery."

"Not everyone could say they took over Isengard." Fili added.

Merry smiled shyly. "Well, I had help."

"Ah, but you don't tell people that part unless they ask!"

Merry laughed at that, then looked around. "I'm supposed to find Gamling for a horse."

"He's in the stables." Brynn directed, pointing to the building.

Merry thanked her and ran off, just as happy as when he came.

The five warriors mounted their horses. Gimli was once again riding with Legolas. Unlike his cousins, Gimli didn't much like any steed, even ponies.

"Horse men!" Gimli scorned. "I wish I could muster an army of dwarves, fully armed and filthy."

"I wish that too, Gimli." Said Kili, shifting in his saddle.

"They would be here, if they didn't face war themselves." Brynn stated.

All talk ceased when Eomer rode to the front of the army.

"Now is the hour, Riders of Rohan! Oaths you have taken. Now, fulfill them all, to Lord, and Land!" He gave a shout, and his horse reared before taking off.

The force of Rohan went forward after their leader, for war.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dunharrow was not a far ride. None the less, Brynn was thankful when the trip was finished. She jumped off her horse and stretched her legs. The too-big mount had left them sore

Fili approached her. "I just spoke to King Theoden. We have six thousand here."

"Six thousand?" Brynn exclaimed. She looked around to make sure no one was listening. "That is hardly even a force."

"I know." Fili said, leading their horses to be tied. "I suppose we must hope more come."

Brynn agreed, but if they hadn't come by now, more would most likely not be arriving.

Fili, Kili, and Brynn gave their horses off to be taken care of and then set up a tent that they would share. The sun started to set as they did so, sending long shadows stretching across the grass. A light fog flooded the camp. Maybe it was that that made everyone uneasy.

The trio walked through the camp close to the mountains with Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn. The men there were struggling to control the horses, who were rearing and bucking. They met Eomer who was trying to pull the saddle off his horse.

"The horses are restless and the men are quiet." Legolas commented, scanning the area as he often did. He was a watcher.

Eomer heaved the saddle into his arms. "They grow nervous in the shadow of the mountain."

Gimli pointed to a cleft in the mountain side. "That road there, where does it lead?"

"It is the road to Dimholt, the door under the mountain." Legolas spoke, eyeing it carefully.

"None who venture there ever return. That mountain is evil." Eomer said, a dark look passing over his face. Brynn wondered how many friends he had lost there.

"Must be very unstable, yeah?" She said, staring at the mountain peak.

"It is not the cave-ins they say kill, my lady."

"You mean ghosts?" Kili asked, raising an eyebrow.

Eomer smiled at the disbelieving dwarf. He slid the bit out of his horses mouth and handed him away to a soldier. "You don't believe it?"

Kili shrugged. "I've been to many places that were supposed to be haunted and only found evidence in ONE that the legend was true."

Eomer clapped him on the back. "Well, let's hope you never have to find out in this case. Come, I'm starving. Let's eat."

The others agreed and started to walk away in search of a meal. Aragorn stood fixated on the mountain path.

Brynn paused and watched him for a second. "Aragorn!" She called.

He jumped and turned to her.

She waved him forward. "Let's go get some food."

Aragorn nodded and walked with Brynn, but his mind was elsewhere. Even through dinner, as they all are together, he didn't say much more than necessary. And that made Brynn curious.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Brynn was just falling asleep when Kili burst through the flap of the tent, startling his brother and sister to near death. Once they stopped grumbling (that took awhile), Kili explained himself. He had seen a hooded figure ride into the outskirts of the tent and enter Theoden's tent. No alarm was raised, but the newcomer was certainly not Rohirrim. This peaked the siblings curiosity so high that they couldn't leave it alone. That's why they found themselves crouched outside Theoden's tent in the shadow, straining to hear anything. It was, to their annoyance, fruitless. All they heard was muffled speech. They were about to leave when the talking stopped suddenly, and didn't resume.

"Fili... Do you think he's been killed?" Brynn asked in a whisper.

"I don't know..." Fili replied. "I suppose we oughta check?"

Kili and Brynn didn't get to answer. A torch shown light at their backs with no warning. The trio spun around and found themselves looking up at... Elrond Halfelven.

"Why am I not surprised?" Elrond questioned, disapproving. "Are you three in the middle of everything?"

"We try." Said Kili.

"We like the attention." Added Brynn.

A ghost of a smiled appeared on Elrond's face. "Come inside."

The trio rose to their feet and followed Elrond to the door. Theoden was in there still - not killed - and looking very confused.

"You know them?" He asked Elrond, motioning to the dwarves.

"Unfortunately." Elrond answered, cape sweeping around his feet. "I'll speak to them before what we discussed."

Theoden nodded. "I'll make sure your horse is looked after and then send for him."

Theoden took his leave. Elrond sat in a chair and watched the siblings intently, remaining silent. They shuffled their feet uncomfortably, not knowing if they should speak or wait for him to break the quiet. But it didn't take very long for Brynn to cave. Silence made her feel uncomfortable.

"Why must you do this?" She complained, earning a smile from the elf lord. "It is quite disconcerting."

Elrond raised his hands. "I am simply trying to figure out how you managed to get yourselves here."

"We are here on diplomacy." Fili said. "Why are you here? I thought all the elves were setting sail. It was shock enough when they came to Helms Deep."

"Nearly all of my kind have crossed over. I am here for Aragorn. I'm sure you've met."

"Once or twice." Said Kili. "Say, speaking of Aragorn, why did no one tell us that Estel was the heir of Isildur."

"It never came up." Elrond rubbed his face.

Brynn could tell they were frustrating the elf leader. They did that a lot. It was so easy to bug Elrond that they just did it without trying. He was good about it, though, and never despised them for it. They knew deep down he liked them, he just didn't like to show it.

"Why are you here for Aragorn?" Brynn asked, curious.

"To give him guidance. Your force here is not enough to save Gondor. He must go to the Paths of the Dead and get their help."

"Blast! The elf was right. The legend is true?" Brynn asked, miffed at Legolas being right over her.

Elrond nodded.

"Will they come?" Fili asked.

"They should. As heir of Isildur, they owe him a debt."

"Will he claim the title?" Fili seemed concerned now, and Brynn knew that he was thinking of his own problems claiming the title of Prince. Fili was always concerned about people.

Elrond didn't answer the blond dwarf for a second and that was almost an answer in itself. Finally he sighed. "He will have to, to save his country. He is coming here soon, and you cannot be present when I speak to him." He paused before adding. "And you can't listen from outside either."

Brynn rolled her eyes. "We couldn't hear anything anyways."

"Tell your children we say hello." Kili said.

"And goodbye." Brynn added, suddenly shocked with sadness. She shook it off and smiled at Elrond. "Goodbye, Lord Elrond."

"Goodbye Brynn, Kili, and Fili. May you live full and prosperous lives."

They bowed their thanks and the three of them left the tent, feeling more than a little sad. They were going to miss Elrond.

 **So I'm not overly proud of this chapter, but it's a set up for the next one! Which is when we get into the Paths. The good stuff!**

 **Anyway, I don't know how much/fast I'll be able to post, since Christmas is next week(!) - how crazy is that? I'm telling you, I was not prepared for this.**

 **Anyway, PLEASE review** **and let me know your thoughts!**

 **QuestionOTChapter: How many times have you read The Hobbit (and LOTR) I try to read it every year since I fell in love with Middle Earth. So about 8? Unfortunately I've only managed to read LOTR once haha. But I want to take it on again soon.**


	10. Chapter 10

**And I'm back! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from me and Brynn and Fili and Kili! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday!**

 **I'm hoping to finish this up fairly quickly now that the holidays are over.**

 **Enjoy!**

Fili, Kili, and Brynn weren't tired after their conversation with Elrond. They sat around a dying fire, minds filled with thoughts of leaving elves, Aragorn going to the Paths, and their apparent doom at Gondor. Very cheery. Fili, especially, was very serious, not joining in any conversation between Brynn and Kili and always staring into the coals.

Finally, he looked up from the fire. "I need to do something. I'll be back."

Before his siblings could question why, he was gone. Brynn looked as if she were going to go after him but Kili stayed her with a hand to her knee.

Fili had thought long and hard about what he was doing. Aragorn was bearing a heavy burden - a burden Fili had born and gotten rid of, with help. He wanted to now help the heir of Gondor. In any way he could.

He found Aragorn saddling his horse under a tree. A new sword hung on his belt, but the man seemed nervous about it. It wasn't just another part of his body, like a sword should be. It was something intrusive.

"Where are you going?" Fili asked, startling Aragorn.

Aragorn faced him. "To get help, if all goes well."

"What kind of help?" Fili already knew the answer, of course, but he was hoping Aragorn would trust him enough to open up.

"I'm going to the Paths of the Dead. The army there should follow me, as I can close their debt as heir of Isildur."

Fili sensed the bitterness in that statement. "You don't like that, do you?"

"No." Aragorn sighed, resigned.

Fili thought about it before resting his leg on a stump and leaning his arms on it. "I've been in the same situation. I was the heir to a kingdom my forefather lost by greed. Not the greatest reputation. And besides that, I had a huge responsibility as heir to my uncle."

Aragorn looked past the fact that his forefather had put all of Middle Earth in danger, which he counted as much worse than losing your kingdom, and listened to the prince. "How did you accept it?"

Fili shrugged. "I couldn't hide from being heir. It's who I am. I wouldn't fully be me until I accepted that part as well. And I had to realize that I was different than my great-grandfather. Even if everyone else thought me the same, I knew the truth. And once I knew it and accepted it, I was able - with the joint effort of my uncle and siblings - to show those who doubted us what we weren't going to make the same mistakes."

"I'm not my forefather..." Aragorn murmured, as if reassuring himself.

Fili smiled, shaking his head. "Not in the least. You've shown that already."

Aragorn smiled back at the prince. "Thank you."

Fili waved him off. "No need."

Aragorn hesitated. "I don't suppose you'd come with me?"

Fili had been expecting this. When you had to do something you weren't sure about, you wanted someone with you who understood. Fili wanted to go. He didn't want to leave Aragorn on the line alone. Kili and Brynn would agree with him. There was just one problem - their agreement with King Theoden.

Fili rubbed his beard. "I never have seen a ghost before."

Aragorn grinned in relief. "Neither have I."

"You'll let me say goodbye to my siblings?" He didn't say, but that was a non-negotiable request. There was no way he could just up and leave them with no explanation.

"Of course." Aragorn agreed. "I'll ready your horse."

Fili started back for his tent. This was going to be hard to explain.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The trio stood in their tent, sconce light giving them the ability to see each other. Kili and Brynn were suspicious, Fili wasn't fool enough to not see it. He just hoped that they would take it well. But really, who was he kidding? They would hate the idea.

"I spoke with Aragorn. He is going to the Paths of the Dead."

"That's good." Kili said carefully, eyeing his brother.

"I believe I need to go with him." Fili said quietly, watching the reactions of his siblings carefully.

They stayed quiet a moment, eyes drilling into his.

"Okay." Brynn said finally. "Let's go."

Fili raked his fingers through his hair. Of course they would take the 'I' as a 'we'. "Uncle sent us to help King Theoden. To show him that we haven't ignored their plight. For us to leave now would be dangerous."

"So... We stay?" Kili questioned, confused.

"I have to go. I can feel it." Fili took a deep breath. "What I'm asking is that you two stay."

There was silence before the statement sunk in.

"We're not leaving you, Fili, you're our brother!" Brynn exclaimed.

"Fili, it's nuts to split up now. Who knows when we'll see each other again? We won't be able to communicate." Kili argued.

"We can't all go and I can't stay. I don't know what else to do." Fili said.

Brynn looked at the ground, arms crossed. "Kili, you go with him. You two are practically twins, you should be together. I'll continue our agreement with the king."

"No." Kili and Fili said at the same time.

Brynn gave them a look. "I'm twenty nine, I can be by myself, you know."

"We'll stay, darling." Kili insisted.

Fili walked forward, and Kili held out his arm for his brother to grab. Fili laughed, and, grabbing Kilis arm with one hand, hugged him with the other. They stepped apart after a minute and Fili turned to Brynn, who was looking at them with sad eyes.

Filis heart melted. "Oh, Brynn."

Brynn stepped into his arms, hugging him fiercely. "When do you leave?"

"As soon as we've said goodbye."

"Promise me you won't die."

Fili closed his eyes. "You know I can't-"

"Promise me."

"I promise. But you must promise as well. This is a huge battle. Don't do anything rash."

Brynn pulled away and rubbed her tired eyes. "You're telling me? Kili is the one you should fear for."

Fili smiled. "It goes for both of you. Pretend I'm there yelling at you if you're about to do something stupid."

"Come now, brother, when do we," Kili motioned to him and Brynn. "Do anything stupid?"

Fili laughed. "You want a list?"

Brynn laughed lightly at that, still not wanting her brother to leave. But he had to go. She knew that. He and Aragorn were very similar, what with being exiled heirs, and Fili would be a great help. He had already overcome his fears of claiming his title.

"Well," Brynn said, trying to fight off worry. "Don't make any ghosts angry."

Fili nodded in mock seriousness. "I will be sure not to."

From outside their tent came a call for Fili. The dwarves emerged to see Aragorn on his horse, holding the reigns of Fili's, with Legolas and Gimli behind him. Brynn wasn't aware that all three hunters were going, but it didn't surprise her. And it made her feel better that Gimli would be with Fili. She did realize, though, that that meant their only friend left in camp was Eomer. It was a sad thought.

Fili hoisted himself onto the tall back of his horse, and with a final nod to his siblings he was off.

Kili and Brynn walked beside the three horses as they went through the camp. Soldiers gathered from tents and fires, watching them leave. It wasn't hard to read their faces. They thought they were abandoning. Brynn wished she could explain, but it wasn't her plan to tell.

"What's happening? Where are they going? I don't understand." Brynn heard a soldier say.

She and Kili stopped at the edge of camp. The riders moved on, disappearing into the cleft and mist.

"Lord Aragorn! Why does he leave on the eve of battle?"

"He leaves because there is no hope." Gamling spoke bitterly.

"He leaves because he must." Kili corrected, still staring after his brother.

"Too few have come. We cannot defeat the armies of Mordor."

"No, we cannot." Theoden said, looking around at his men before focusing back on Gamling. "But we will meet them in battle none the less."

With that the men dispersed back to their tents, leaving the two dwarves to look at nothing.

Fili had always been the leader of the three. The protector. Brynn and Kili felt good about things if Fili was there. Now, with war on the horizon and their brother not by their sides, they had never felt more alone.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooook

Canyon walls rose into the air, standing strong against any force that should challenge it. They would protect their secret inside them, wrapping around it like an unbreakable fortress. The mist was its army, swirling and dancing in a war dance to scare intruders away. The atmosphere spoke of death, carrying on the stories of those who had been defeated by the mountain.

"What kind of army would linger in such a place?" Gimli asked with a shudder.

"One that is cursed." Legolas replied. "Long ago men of the mountains swore an oath to the last King of Gondor, to come to his aid, to fight. But when the time came, they fled into the darkness of the mountain. And so Isildur cursed them, never to rest until they had fulfilled their pledge."

Legolas continued talking, but Fili got distracted by his mind. He thought of Kili, and of Brynn, and the battle they faced. He didn't regret his decision to come, but he missed them. No matter what bad thing they had faced he had faced it head on because he had to be strong for them. Now they were preparing for war and he was facing an entire army of ghosts. He had three companions, but he felt alone.

The path ended up ahead, and a dark doorway was set into the mountain. Aragorn dismounted and his followers did the same, leading their horses along.

Fili shivered, even as sweat beaded on his neck. "The very warmth of my blood seems stolen away."

An inscription in strange symbols was carved above the door. In all his years studying with Balin - oh, wonderful Balin - Fili had never seen the letters. But Legolas had.

"The way is shut. It was made by those who are dead, and the dead keep it. The way is shut."

Something mist-like and evil rushed out of the darkness and straight through them. The horses panicked, neighing and reading until they pulled free of their owners.

"Brego!" Aragorn yelled after his steed, to no avail. He turned back, now angry. "I do not fear death!" He walked through the entrance, disappearing.

Legolas went in after him, and Fili made to follow. He was just inside the door when he realized Gimli was not with him.

Fili turned around, looking at his stunned cousin. "Coming, Gimli."

"Well, this is a thing unheard of. An elf will go underground, when a dwarf will not. I'd never hear the end of it." Gimli came after the blond prince.

Fili snorted. "Gandalf always said the stubbornness of dwarves would get them in trouble."

They caught up with Legolaa and Aragorn, who were already deep in the winding tunnels. Aragorn had a torch, and the blessed light gave them just a little bit more bravery. Even in the mountain there was mist, just deep enough to be at a mans calves. Fili didn't understand where it came from, and he struggled not to imagine it as the souls of men, destined to exist in a between world from life to death until they paid their debt. How could they not accept that chance? Of course, thought Fili, they had abandoned the King of Gondor once before. He shuddered to think how long these beings had been forced to live against their will, how long they had had to let their anger fester. They wouldn't take kindly to visitors.

Now that they were deeper in the mountain, human skulls and bones were littering the floor. Aragorn and Fili passed by them, but Legolas remained staring at them.

"What is it? What do you see?" Gimli asked, disturbing the quiet.

"I see shapes of men and horses." Legolas replied.

Fili and Aragorn shared a concerned look. Legolas was seeing what they could not, and they didn't know what effect the elves heightened senses would have on him in this place.

Legolas moved on from the skulls, forcing them to move on. "The dead are following. They have been summoned."

As if Fili hadn't been nervous enough in this place. But he kept moving, following the light of their torch. It was the only comfort they had in the dark paths.

Fili accidentally kicked a skull across the floor and froze, expecting some invisible being to reach into him and steal his life. After all, he wouldn't like someone kicking his bones. Nothing happened, and he moved on, though his heart was still pounding. Even that scared him, making him wonder if the ghosts could hear the vibrations in the air; wondering if they could sense something alive in their kingdom.

They turned a corner and the mist got deeper. Chest deep on Aragorn and Legolas, but on the dwarves it was up to almost their necks. From the mist emerged ghastly hands, twisting and grasping. Fili swatted at them, trying to control his pounding heart. He could hear Gimli blowing at them, and that almost made him smile. Almost.

Aragorn stepped and there was a resounding crunch. He stopped and glanced at the floor.

"Do not look down." He murmured, continuing on.

Now, Fili followed orders well, when they were clear. But this heightened his curiosity to a level he couldn't handle, and so he looked down at the floor. Skulls. Dozens upon dozens lay on the floor in such thickness it was like a carpet. Fili felt sick as he tread on them, each step bringing horrible noises. The sound got to all of them it seemed, for they picked up the pace until they were running through the hall.

They emerged into a huge cavern, the ceiling so high you couldn't see the top. The four of them skidded to a stop. Aragorn held his torch high as they looked around.

"Who enters my domain?"

They turned around and a ghost appeared in front of them. He was translucent, but they could still easily make out his features. He was a king, as was evident by his crown. He was mainly bones, with flesh clinging on and hanging off in places. Clothes and armour somehow stayed on him, but they were torn and tarnished.

Aragorn answered the grotesque figure. "One who will have your allegiance."

There was no quiver in his voice, no tremble. He spoke clearly, with authority.

"The dead do not suffer the living to pass." The king sneered.

"You will suffer me!"

The King of the Dead laughed menacingly, throwing his head back. As he did so, a huge kingdom appeared behind him, filled with buildings. Soldiers poured from it and surrounded them; a sea of green beings ready to kill.

"The way is shut!" The king declared. "It was made by those who are dead, and the dead keep it."

The ghost army started closing in like a tightening noose, and Aragorn's followers drew their weapons. Fili knew it would do them any good. Their adversaries were already dead.

"The way is shut! Now, you must die!"

 **Dun dun duuun. I love the Paths of the Dead. Such a cool part of the story! I didn't want to miss out on it, so that's part of the reason why I sent Fili with Aragorn. But next chapter we'll jump back to Brynn and Kili for awhile.**

 **QotC: Who's your favourite actress/actor? Mine is Sebastian Stan, for the simple reason that he plays Bucky Barnes (and he's a nice guy himself too!).**

 **Please leave a review to let me know what you think! :) First review gets a chapter, as always.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for reviewing. I didn't even realize but last chapter was chapter 10, which means we're halfway through this story (and going strong). Thanks so much for sticking with me!**

 **LacyTheRomanWerewolf: J Law is super cool! I love how human she is in a world where a lot of people are fake.**

 **And I found that Aragorn and Fili were very similar, so I loved getting to build a friendship between the two.**

 **BlossomLossy: I haven't heard of her, but I'll have to look her up! Thanks for your continued support. :)**

 **Enjoy**!

The early morning was wet and chilly, causing even the toughest soldiers to shiver occasionally. They had been up for awhile, packing their things and eating a spartan breakfast. Even with the three day gallop and evident defeat set before them they moved fast in their preparations.

Brynn and Kili had finished everything they needed to do and were waiting for everyone else to be ready to go. Kili had been talking to Eomer, so Brynn wandered around the camp, on the lookout for Merry but not actively searching for him. That was when she overheard one soldier speaking with great passion to those around him.

"They left on the eve of battle. They're all cowards, they are, that would-be king and his two ragtag friends." He spoke, anger shrouding his eyes. "Not to mention the dwarf prince. He made a deal with King Theoden, and he hasn't even the guts to keep it. It's true, we're all thinking it. I'll stand on it any day."

The sound of a sword being drawn caused the soldier to turn around. Before him stood a very fierce, very angry dwarven princess.

"You would stand on it any day, would you?" She asked, sword pointing straight at the soldier, blade still. "How about now?"

The soldier shook his head, hands in the air. "No, your majesty. No."

Brynn jerked her sword a little closer, and the soldier jumped. "You can't even keep your word. It is you who is the coward."

"What is going on here?" King Theoden rushed over, Eomer leading the way. Kili was not far behind.

"He called my brother a coward." Brynn spoke calmly, blue eyes fixed on the soldier. "I'm making sure it never happens again."

Eomer went over to his man. "Soldier, apologize to the princess."

The soldier bowed low, maybe overdoing it (though you couldn't blame him). "I'm sorry, my lady. It was out of line."

Brynn didn't move, and Kili sighed. "Brynn, put your sword down. You're scaring the poor man."

Brynn relented and sheathed her sword, brushing her hair out of her face and then standing as if nothing had happened.

Theoden addressed the soldier and all those around him. "I trust Lord Aragorn and his friends. They would not leave without good reason. Were you not there at Helms Deep? Impossible odds, and they still stood with us. They would not run now." Theoden let that settle for a few silent seconds. "Ready for travel. We move out."

Eomer waited for the mouthy soldier to leave and then approached Brynn. "If you don't mind me asking, why have they left? Has something happened?"

Brynn looked at Kili for any inclination of what she should say before shaking her head. "If Lord Aragorn did not tell you then I cannot."

Eomer nodded. "I respect that."

Brynn smiled and went off with Kili to get their horses. There was a kind of nervous excitement in the air. Many of the men seemed jittery, doing things repetitively and searching for extra tasks. Anything to keep their minds busy.

"Did you really have to pull your 'scary warrior princess' act on the man?" Kili asked as he tightened the girth of his saddle.

"Yes, I did. And you would have done the same if someone called Fili a gutless coward in your vicinity. Don't pretend you don't have a 'scary warrior prince' act." Brynn replied, accepting Kilis boost to get herself on the tall horse.

Kili gave her a wry smile. "I never said I didn't. I also have a 'scary warrior big brother' act."

"Now _that_ I have seen many times."

Theoden and Merry stood twenty feet away from the two dwarves. Theoden looked stern and Merry was clearly upset.

"It is a three day gallop to Minas Tirith and none of my riders can bear you as a burden." Theoden was saying, not looking remorseful in the least.

"I want to fight!" Merry insisted desperately.

"I will say no more."

Theoden walked away, leaving Merry alone in his suit of armour. Brynn couldn't bear the sight. She looked to Kili with wide pleading eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off.

"We'll take him." He said, swinging into his saddle. "He won't be left behind."

A group of soldiers broke camp, thundering past Merry, who was walking alone despondently. As one soldier passed, they reached down and snagged the hobbit by his collar, hauling him up to sit in front of them.

Brynn turned to Kili in confusion, but his face mirrored her own. He had no more of an explanation than she did. Maybe they would find out who had taken him when they stopped again.

As Kili and Brynn joined the next group to gallop off, Brynn thought about who would take a hobbit with them. Very few people knew Merry in the camp. Her mind pushed a suggestion at her, but she could not believe it. It was too impossible.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

The sun was shining bright, trying in vain to cheer the Rohirrim sitting in its warmth. They had stopped beside a lake for a quick rest and a bite to eat. Kili and Brynn were not resting. Inside they were wandering idly, keeping an eye out for the one hobbit in the army. You could call them nosy and suspicious if you wanted, but they were not the kind to just let that go. They didn't like not knowing things.

"How can it be this hard to find a hobbit?" Brynn asked, flustered.

Kili shook his head, then spotted something. He turned Brynns shoulders until she was looking in the direction he was. "There."

A head of curly blond hair was just popping up from behind a rock. It could only belong to a hobbit.

They were on their way over when Eomer rode up to them, their horses in tow. He handed them their reigns. He looked grim, and didn't waste any time explaining why.

"The scouts report Minis Tirith surrounded. The lower levels are in flames. Everywhere, legions of the enemy advance."

"Time is against us." Kili commented, once again boosting Brynn into her saddle and then climbing onto his horse.

Eomer nodded. "We ride through the night."

"To battle then, I suppose." Brynn said.

"To battle."

Brynn was annoyed that they had not gotten to see Merry, but she kicked her horse onward anyway. Priorities. But she did send a glimpse over her shoulder to maybe catch his eye and send him a nod. But Merry was gone.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Rohirrim had rode strong all night, fighting time. Though many had grown tired, all exhaustion left at the sight in front of them now. Never had any seen such a battle before. Not in this scale. Helms Deep looked like a street brawl compared to this.

Theoden called out orders to his generals, but Brynn was focused on the battlefield. Fili had not arrived yet, at least not with the help they had wanted. Brynn prayed that he was still coming, still with that army, for they needed the help. They wouldn't survive without it.

Two Eoreds were splitting off, following their commanders. Brynn and Kili stayed with the king, right in the centre.

Theoden rode to address his men. "Arise! Arise, riders of Theoden! Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword day, a red day, ere the sun rises!"

The soldiers lowered their spears in readiness, and Brynn and Kili added their swords to the line. Theoden rode along in front of them, running his sword across all the spears.

"Ride now, ride now! Ride! Ride for ruin, and the worlds ending!" He raised his sword high in the air. "Death!

The army responded in a mighty roar. "Death!"

"Death!"

"Death!"

"Death!" Theoden faced the battle. "Death!"

Brynn fought the shivers in her soul and responded once more. "Death!"

"Forth Eorlingas!"

The horns sounded, and the army charged. As they neared closer the orcs fired arrows into their lines. Men and horses fell from beside Brynn, but still she galloped on. One just barely grazed her calf, and red stained the edges of the cut, but she ignored it. She had yelled death as if to challenge it. To show it she was not afraid. And she wasn't.

As they got closer they could see the fear in the orcs faces at the fury of the Rohirrim. Some began to run, but they wouldn't get far. The riders crashed into the orcs lines, and the slaughter began.

 **That chapter was super short, I'm sorry! It kinda had to be for how I've planned it... But I'll try to update quicker to make up for it**

 **I LOVE the ride of the Rohirrim. They were all such brave men. And like I'll probably say about all the battles, this one is so cool!**

 **QotC: If you won a plane ticket to anywhere in the world, where would you go? I'd go to New Zealand, because Middle Earth, baby! It's on my bucket list to go there. But it's very expensive. :/**

 **Please let me know what you thought! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! As promised, this is a quickish update!**

 **NarniaTolkienGeek: I was getting chills just writing about their charge! So much emotion. And I've never even heard of the Peruvian Andes (:/) but they sound cool! :D**

 **Enjoy!**

Legolas fired an arrow at the king and it blew right through him, clattering to the ground with no effect. He had been expecting that, but he had to try.

Aragorn walked toward the ghost leader. "I summer you to fulfill your oath!"

Fili closed his eyes, willing Aragorn to mention that he was the heir of Gondor. He did not want to die, especially when he had promised Brynn.

"None but the King of Gondor can command me!" The king yelled, rushing at Aragorn with sword held high.

Aragorn drew his sword with speed and met the attack. A loud clang resounded through the cavern, shocking even the dead army. Aragorns companions waited with unease - if the army attacked, the only one who could fight was Aragorn.

The King of the Dead sneered. "That blade was broken!"

"It has been remade." Aragorn shoved his opponent backwards. "Fight for us and regain your honour. What say you?" There was eerie silence. "What say you?"

"We might be wasting our time, Aragorn." Fili said quietly, eyeing the army. "They had no honour in life and they have none now."

But Aragorn would not give up so easily. "I am Isildur's heir! Fight for me and I will hold your oaths fulfilled!"

The king laughed once again and the army slowly disappeared, as if being blown away by the wind.

"You have my word!" Aragorn cried, spinning around. "Fight and I will release you from this living death!"

"Stand, you traitors!" Gimli growled.

The army was gone. The silence was crushing now, and disappointing as well. Now they would have to join their friends at Gondor with failure over their heads. They were all going to die.

There was a cracking sound, echoing to their ears. They looked at each other with confusion, trying to see where it was coming from. They didn't have to look long, for the building in front of them started to crumble. Sections were falling, and hundreds of thousands of skulls started pouring from the cracks.

"Out!" Aragorn yelled, starting to run for the tunnel across the room that would hopefully lead out.

The skulls were piling up fast, and they struggled to stay on top of them and not sink. They slipped and slid on the slope of bones, helping each other up when they fell or sank. Dust filled their lungs and rocks fell on their heads and shoulders.

They ran through the tunnel, bone and boulders all around them. But there was sunlight ahead, and it urged them to keep going. They emerged into the open air, dust billowing from the tunnel entrance. They coughed and wheezed out the dirt from their airways, pausing to catch their breath.

"That will haunt me for many years." Gimli sneezed.

When they caught their breath they saw what was on the river. Three black ships were heading in the direction of Minis Tirth, filled with allies of Sauron. They were going to slaughter their friends, and all of Gondor, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Aragorn fell to his knees in despair and Legolas put his hand on his shoulder in support. Together the four of them watched the ships move closer to their goal.

"This was not your fault, Aragorn." Fili said, voice filled with sorrow and defeat.

"But your siblings... Kili and Brynn..." Aragorn trailed off, too despairing to say more about it. He couldn't understand how Fili was taking it so well.

"They'll fight like Durins and... And die with honour. And I will continue to fight in their name." If only it was that simple. Just the thought of them passing on without him made him sick. He had left them. He had left to get help, yes, and with their blessing, but now he would never see them again. He couldn't imagine it.

There was a noise behind them and they all turned around. The King of the Dead appeared out of the mountain. It was harder to see him now, in the light, but he was there none the less. Aragorn stood, hope building once again.

"We fight!" The king declared, conviction fuelling his words.

Aragorn sighed in relief, a smile softening his features. "Thank you. We need to take over those ships and go to Gondor at great speed." He wasted no time, for he knew he didn't have much.

The king nodded and disappeared.

Aragorn was excited now, and he turned back to the ships. They were so close you could see the men on it now. They were every bit the pirates you would expect them to be.

"You will not enter Gondor!" Aragorn called, confidence surging.

The ship boson stood up in response. He was dressed all in black and looked fierce, but not overly threatening skill wise.

"Who are you to deny us passage?" He asked scornfully.

"Legolas, fire a warning shot past the bosons ear." Aragorn requested.

"Mind your aim." Gimli warned.

Legolas fit an arrow to his bow and aimed, adjusting just a hair inch. Just as he released, Gimli knocked his bow. The arrow flew awry, sinking into the chest of one of the men and killing him quickly.

Legolas sent Gimli an offended look, but the dwarf did not care. "That's right! We warned you!" Gimli yelled, shaking his axe in the air. "Prepare to be boarded!"

The ships were filled with laughter at that. Obviously the shot had not had the effect Gimli had intended.

The boson controlled himself after a minute. "Boarded? By you and whose army?"

"This army." Aragorn said.

From behind the four warriors, the dead army appeared. They ran right through them, sending them chills, and over the water into the ships. This was a force none could stop, and the four live beings were thankful they were on their side.

Once the ships were purged of men, the ghost brought one nearer to shore for their live companions to board. There was no one left alive. The bodies seemed to be only sleeping, there was no sign of violence. No blood, no bruises, just life gone. It was disconcerting, being in the company of those who had done that. They just had to hope that they wouldn't turn against them.

Fili stood at the rail of the boat, looking at the horizon, anxiously awaiting the sight of Gondor. Now that they had the army, he just wanted to get to the battle. He didn't like being safe while his brother and sister went off to war. It felt selfish. He didn't want them to die without him. He prayed that they would hold on for him.

"Kili and Brynn are some of the best fighters I've seen." Legolas said, coming beside Fili and watching the skyline with him. "I'm sure they will be fine."

Fili would have smiled at the compliment (especially coming from an elf) if he hadn't been so worried. "Let's just hope they don't do anything brave." He said.

"Why is that?"

"If they don't do anything brave, they don't do anything stupid. Like take a blade for someone or-or jump in front of a catapult."

Legolas smiled at the image. "I think not being brave would go against their nature."

Fili glared at him. "That is not comforting in the least."

"Sorry."

Legolas stopped talking but didn't leave. He and Fili watched the water go by, waiting for their chance to join the battle.

If Thorin could see his nephew now.

 **Aaand that was also quite short. But next chapter will be longer, I promise!**

 **QotC: Favourite pet? (You don't have to actually own it, just whichever animal you would love to have!) My favourite would have to be a dog! I love mine, and I couldn't imagine life without one!**

 **Next review gets a chapter!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the delay on this one guys, but thanks so much for your amazing responses!**

 **BlossomLossy: Wow! Six cats! I do really like cats but I like them at other people's houses. I'm also allergic so that puts a damper on things... :P**

 **LacyTheRomanWerewolf: I hope you heal up nice and fast! That doesn't sound like any fun. :/ I can totally see Thorin rolling his eyes at his niece and nephew when he discovered they were becoming friends with Thranduils son. But I like to think he might just give him a second chance.**

 **NarniaTolkienNerd: Poor sweet Fili always tries to make people feel better, even when he feels like crap. What a guy. *has tons of Fili feels* And I adore bunnies! They're so darn cute! :)**

 **Enjoy!**

The Rohirrim were destroying orcs with little trouble. Brynn found herself relaxing into the environment. It was just orcs, she told herself. Nothing she hadn't faced before. There was a sense of familiarity to it that gave her a sense of calm. That might seem odd to some, but Brynn had been in the fight against orcs since she was born. Obviously she didn't start fighting until she was earlier, but the fight went way deeper than physical - it was a way of existence, and that feeling fuelled her sword strikes, felling orcs and Uruk hai one after the other.

They were driving the orcs to the river to corner them when the horn blew. Brynn's jaw dropped and she couldn't stop staring at the cause of the noise. A line of Mumakill were moving steadily toward the Rohirrim. On their backs were strapped platforms for soldiers. They were steering the massive beasts, and surely had archers on them. They began to charge, the mumakill swinging their tusks back and forth to sweep up anyone in their paths.

"Re-form the line!" Theoden yelled, trying to keep his men's minds on task. "Re-form the line!"

The Rohirrim hurriedly got back into their line, looking to each other for some sense of how they were to take these creatures down. This was not anything they had ever trained for. Brynn got separated from Kili in the rush and didn't have time to find him again. She cursed under her breath.

"Take them head on!" Theoden yelled. "Charge!"

Brynn kicked her horse hard and it took off like an arrow. Her mind reeled for an idea on how to take down a Mumakill but she fell short. She would just have to take it one breath at a time.

The Mumakill swayed their massive tusks from side to side, plowing through anything in their paths. They trampled or tossed their victims, killing them in seconds. The Rohirrim moved in close. Brynn was facing one of the giants straight on, but swerved to miss it's swing. Many men and horses were not so lucky, and flew into the air above her head.

Brynns move had kept her safe once but put her right in the way of another Mumakills deadly swing. There was no way her horse would get out alive, something she deeply regretted, but there was still a chance she could live. It was possibly the most insane thing she'd ever done, but she had no choice.

Brynn put her feet on her saddle and waited until the spike covered tusk was at just the right height. She leapt off of her horse and grabbed at a loose cord. It lifted her - high and had. She felt her arm pop out of socket and screamed against the pain. She almost let go, but the distance between her and ground helped her keep her grip. As the tusk went back down, she swung into the air above it, and managed to bring herself down to sit on it. The spikes gave her a bit of an enclosure, but she was startled when a man was speared on one and then flung off it a second later, leaving nothing but blood behind. Brynn twisted her arm back into socket and felt instant relief. She stood once more, nearly losing her balance. Brynn climbed up the cords around the tusk, heart soaring every time she went up or down with the Mumakills swings. Finally she made it to the top, and that's when the Haradrim noticed her. She drew a long dagger and got one out of the way so she could be in a safer spot, slicing his throat and letting him fall to the ground. The rest - six in total now - attacked at once, and she took them on. It was too close for swords, so all they used were daggers and fists. Brynn went for kill spots (heads, necks, and chests), spinning endlessly to meet all attacks and keep herself out of reach of at least two of them. She cut the legs of one of them and then grabbed him before he hit the floor of the platform, shoving him into another Haradrim. They both fell over and were gone. There were two more opponents on either side of her. One stabbed at her and she stepped back, using his momentum to turn the attack on his fellow soldier. When the deed was done she disposed of her makeshift weapon. She was fighting the last two when one of them got a spear stuck in his chest, and he fell off the side. Brynn used the distraction to kill the last man.

That's when the Mumakill began to tilt. Brynn steadied herself and then moved to see what had happened. The speared man had caught on the Mumakills ear. In an attempt to relieve the pain, the beast was turning into it, and it was headed straight for another creature. They collided, and both beasts crashed to the ground. Brynn was thrown from the back of the animal. She sailed through the air until she collided with the dirt and tumbled from the momentum, finally stopping a few yards away. She lay on her bruised back, trying to catch her breath. The pain made her muscles contract, and her back arched on the ground.

There was a horrible scream; the scream of a Nazgul. Brynn had seen pictures, and had seen the beast and it's rider flying above the city. Now it seemed it was very close to her. And if it was close to her, she would try to kill it.

Brynn rolled painfully onto her belly and pushed herself to her knees with her hands. She put one foot on the ground at a time and stood. The Witch King and his Nazgul were flying around the battlefield, lifting soldiers and dropping them to their deaths.

Theoden was on his horse far from Brynn, fighting strongly. The Witch King set his sight on him and flew with great speed to his target. Brynn ignored her pain and ran for the King of Rohan. She wasn't fast enough. The Nazgul snatched Theoden's steed between its teeth an threw them both. Brynn didn't stop. There was a chance the king was still alive, and if he wasn't she would get her revenge.

Something crashed into Brynn from the side and sent her flying once again. A huge weight fell atop her and it only took her a moment to see that it was an Orc. It was pale and ugly, and horribly deformed - even more than an Orc normally was. It got to its feet and lifted Brynn with a hand around her throat. It sneered at her with disgust as it squeezed. Brynn reached for a knife and stabbed at the abomination. She clipped him, but only succeeded in making him angry. He threw her with manufactured strength. Brynn cried out as she landed again on her back. If she survived to tomorrow, she wouldn't be able to move.

The pale Orc towered over her. "Now, dwarf scum, you die."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As the shops pulled up to the port, the four living warriors aboard made sure they couldn't be seen. No need to be target practice for the crowd of orcs waiting for them. They crouched low beneath the rail, waiting.

"Come on, you sea rats, get off your ships!" An Orc yelled to them.

The 'sea rats' looked at each other. Aragorn nodded, and they all leapt over the edge of the ship onto the ground. The orcs looked surprised as they approached them, not quite sure what was happening.

"There's plenty for the both of us." Gimli said to Legolas. "Let the best dwarf win!"

Fili smiled at his cousins competitive nature, then led the charge at the orcs. From behind them the Dead Army materialized and ran right through them, completely overwhelming the orcs. In just a few short minutes, the entire group was vanquished.

Fili, Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn moved on to the battle, staying somewhat close as they fought viciously. As he fought, Fili kept an eye out for his siblings, though he knew it would be a miracle if he found them in this mess.

"Legolas!" Aragorn pointed to a Mumakill coming straight towards them.

Legolas nodded and ran for it, preparing to take it down.

The big beasts were something Fili had not been expecting. He had only ever heard about them and found himself regretting that they had to die. But they were creatures of war, and had to be brought down.

The mumakill Legolas had taken on fell to the ground, front legs collapsing. The elf slipped down its trunk and landed safely in front of Gimli.

The dwarf spluttered. "That still only counts as one!"

Legolas smirked and ran away to find another victim. Fili looked around at the battle, watching as the green army took down their own mumakill and started to purge the city of orcs. They were saving many lives. He just hoped the count included Kili and Brynn.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Brynn rolled out of the way as the orcs sword fell towards her. The blade cut dirt where her neck used to be. She pulled her sword and rose to her knees, readying to block another blow. She did not have to. A green, mist-like force appeared, coming right through her and chilling her body. It killed the Orc attacking her and moved on. Warmth returned to her and only when it was further off did she realize that it was men - translucent men. They were ghosts. Fili and Aragorn had succeeded.

With no more enemies around, Brynn lost all her fight strength. Her sword fell from her hand and she relaxed, sitting on her legs. She just needed a second.

Her second was cut short when a sorrow filled scream sent a shudder through her body. It broke her heart - she knew what it was. She had heard it before. It was the cry of someone who had had all of their hope and joy torn from them; someone who's whole reason for being was gone. What Brynn didn't expect was that the heart wrenching yell came from Eomer. He was cradling a soldier to his chest, but it was not just any soldier. It was Eowyn. Brynns face crumpled in despair. She had known. Deep down, she had known Eowyn was in their midst. No one else would have taken Merry with them. And while she couldn't dispute Eowyn desperately wanting to fight for her home and family, Brynn should have followed through on her gut feeling. If not to save Eomer this pain. He sobbed, tears pouring down his cheeks, as he rocked her, hand tangled in her hair. Brynn wanted to go to him, offer some word of comfort, but knew he needed to be alone. And, she needed to find her brothers. The brother and sister in front of her only deepened the reality that her siblings could be lying somewhere too, dead or dying.

That's when she spotted Aragorn, standing a ways off and watching the same scene she was. And beside him stood Fili. Brynn wanted to burst with relief, half her stress gone, but she would never flaunt the fact that her sibling was alive and well when her friend was suffering from the opposite. She walked - quick enough you could call it a jog - to her brother, who came to meet her as soon as he saw her.

Fili hugged her so tight it upped the pain in her back but she didn't care. He stepped back and held her face, his eyes expressing the same feeling she had; relief, but still worry.

"Where's Kili?" He asked.

Brynn shook her head. "I don't know. We got separated, and I haven't seen him since."

"Okay, we'll split up. You go left, I'll go right. We'll find him, Bree." Fili kissed her dirty forehead and then left, going to search for him brother.

Brynn took a deep breath. She caught Aragorn's eye - he had been looking at her.

"Thank you." She said quietly, just loud enough for him to hear. She hoped he understood her meaning and the depth of gratitude in the words. Thank you, for bringing her brother back, for bringing the army, for fighting this war, for being her friend.

Aragorn bowed his head to her. He understood.

Brynn zigzagged across the battlefield, trying to look at everything. She was so scared of missing Kili. What if he was under something, or moving in the opposite direction as her? Another idea that she tried to push out of her mind was that he had gotten eaten by a nazgul. But she refused to think of that as a valid option. At least for now.

Brynn saw many soldiers dead, but kept thinking _not Kili._ But then she thought of how selfish that was. Why should her family not suffer loss? She just couldn't think otherwise. Legolas had once accused them of being numb to the idea of death. He was right, in a way. They had each faced death multiple times, but always came back from it. While that seemed good at the time, it had sort of deadened them to the idea that they might not make it to an old age. Brynns heart was telling her that he couldn't be dead - they always made it. They were the trio, Thorins heirs, the rulers of Erebor. They were children of Durin, and had inherited that strength. It was hard not to image the three of them, grey and crooked, still pulling pranks. But there was a reality that they wouldn't make it that far or worse, that only one of them wouldn't.

So, when Brynn saw that body - lean, strong, with dark hair and clothes Brynn was pretty sure she had bought for him - her soul reeled. The body was painfully familiar. She had seen it pretty much every day for her entire life. It was Kili, and he was leaning against a dead horse, a long gash across his blood soaked chest.

Brynn fought the bile rising in her throat but couldn't. Her legs gave out and she vomited over the hard ground, before forcing herself to stumble over to the body. She caressed the pale face and then pressed her fingers to Kili's throat. He was alive, but she didn't know how much longer he would be.

"Help!" She cried desperately, not knowing for whom she called. "Help!"

Brynn felt hot tears spill down her cheeks. Breaths were laborious. She couldn't stop holding his face.

Two soldiers appeared by her side, not sure of what to do. Brynn pulled herself together enough to speak to them.

"He's alive." She said, voice thick with sadness. "We have to get him to the city."

They nodded and lifted Kili carefully. Brynn walked with them a ways, heading to the white city, before realizing that she could not help.

She stopped. "I have to find my brother. Please, take care of Kili." She begged, reluctant to leave but knowing where her duties lay.

"Don't worry, my lady. We will." The soldier said as they continued on their way without her.

Brynn tore her eyes from Kili's body and went in search of Fili. He would want to know right away.

When Fili saw Brynn's face, he didn't have to ask.

 **Dun dun dunnnn. Poor Kili! And Eomer lol. My land that part in the battle when he finds Eowyn is my absolute favourite. Ugh. Karl Urban is a legend. It breaks my heart every time! The love he has for her... :'(**

 **QotC: Favourite quote? Off the top of my head mine is "A writer is a world trapped in a person".**

 **Next review gets a chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for the response!**

 **Enjoy!**

Brynn and Fili had sat with their brother for hours. The healer had taken good care of Kili, and now he was bandaged up and lying on a cot. They told the healers they could look after him, since they were so busy looking after other patients. There was nothing more they could do for him anyway.

Brynn found herself staring off at nothing a lot, going to a place where she could sit numbly and not have her mind running a thousand thoughts at once. She didn't want to think. She sat like that all night and into the next day, watching her unconscious brother. Time passed quickly and slowly all at once. Kili was in bad shape, but according to the healer that checked on him he was worse than he should have been. She said didn't know why, but that she hadn't treated dwarves before so she wasn't the best judge. Fili and Brynn knew that was a lame excuse. If only Oin was with them. Oin was very old and now completely deaf, but he was still the one they went to when they were sick and injured. Now they were completely alone.

It was well into the second night and Brynn still had not left Kilis side. Fili had been there almost the whole time as well, but had taken a few short breaks to get food or quick naps.

"Brynn."

Brynn snapped out of her stare and looked at her oldest brother.

"That's the third time I've called you. You need to get rest." Fili urged, clearly concerned.

"I can't leave him." Brynn whispered, putting her hand over Kilis.

"What would he say to you if you were awake?"

Brynn scowled, for she knew the truth. Kili would tell her to take care of herself.

"Get something to eat. You must keep your strength. The war is not over yet." Fili put his hand on her arm and helped her stand.

Brynn nodded and left reluctantly. She didn't like turning her back on her possibly dying brother. But Fili was right. She would need to be strong for the future.

Brynn was astonished at just how many wounded soldiers there were as she walked through just part of the House of Healing. Battles themselves were never so bad, in Brynns opinion. It was the aftermath that hurt. Families shaken to their core, brothers torn apart, friends left without a smile. All results of death. Brynn didn't want anything to do with it.

There was an area set up for the soldiers of Rohan who didn't have anywhere to go, and for the families of wounded Gondorians. The food was simple but the gesture was kind coming from a city nearly overtaken a couple days prior.

Brynn got some meat and bread and a cup of water. She sat down at a table in the corner and hoped no one would bother her there. She wasn't in the mood for talking. Not now, not to strangers.

She was one bite into her slice of bread and butter when someone sat down across from her. She didn't look up at them, just scowled. Normally she would be more civil, but she didn't have the emotional strength to do so.

"That seats taken." She said, more than a little bitterly.

"Well, I don't see either of your brothers around, so I'd guess that is a lie."

Brynn looked up and choked on her bread at the sight of who was sitting with her. Eomer. He pushed her cup of water towards her and she took a sip to ease her coughing.

"I'm sorry, my lord. I should not have been so brash." She apologized, thoroughly embarrassed.

"It's all right, Brynn." Eomer laughed slightly. "I haven't seen you or your brothers since the battle. I was wondering if you were alright."

Brynn looked down at her plate, even less hungry than she had been before.

"My land." Eomer murmured, eyes filled with sadness. "Your brothers?"

"Kili." Brynn clarified. "He's hurt very badly."

"I'm sorry."

"He's not dead." Brynn snapped. She was tired of people acting like he was already gone. She knew the healers had no hope, but she couldn't let go of hers.

"No," Eomer shook his head. "But I nearly lost my little sister. I know the pain."

Brynn held back tears that threatened to fall. She took a deep breath, clenching her hands together. "I don't want him to die." She took a couple more breaths as Eomer sat in silence. He knew Brynn didn't need words, just a presence. Brynn decided to switch the topic to control herself. "How is your sister?"

"Much better." Eomer said, going with the deflection but wishing it didn't involve the fact that his sibling was alive and well. "Her arm is broken, and she's weak, but she is better."

"Good." Brynn nodded. "I'm glad to hear that. She seemed far worse."

"The healers didn't know why she was so badly off. It wasn't until Aragorn took away the Black Breath that she recovered."

"Black Breath?" Brynn questioned.

"From fighting the Witch King."

Brynn straightened in her chair, an idea dawning on her. "They do not think Kili should be as bad as he is. Do you think... Do you think maybe he has this Black Breath?" Her voice rose as she got excited.

Eomer looked hesitant. "I could not say. But please, Brynn, do not get your hopes up."

"What do we cling to if not hope?" Brynn brushed him off, standing to her feet. "I'm going to ask Aragorn."

Brynn left the dining hall in a rush, not knowing where she was going. Eomer followed closely behind. It became obvious to him that she had no idea of where to look for Aragorn, so he took the lead. There was no sense in walking around aimlessly.

They found Aragorn talking to Legolas in front of the white tree of Gondor.

"My lord Aragorn." Brynn called. When she had decided to call him 'my lord' she didn't know, but it seemed appropriate.

Aragorn and Legolas turned.

"Brynn?"

"I have come to ask a favour. I've heard of how you lift the Black Breath, and I was wondering if you would help my brother."

Aragorn looked confused. "Kili has the Black Breath?"

Brynn hesitated. How was she going to sell this without Aragorn thinking she was delusional with grief?

She swallowed. "Well, I cannot say for sure. But it seems very possible. I was just hoping you would try."

Aragorn put his hands on Brynns shoulders, and she instantly felt calmer. "If I can help him, you know I will. But promise me you won't set yourself on this."

Brynn nodded to his request to appease him, though secretly she knew she couldn't promise it.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Brynn led Araforn through the maze of cots, beds, and pallets, working her way to Kili's spot. Fili was no longer there, which worried Brynn just a bit. He wouldn't leave their brother all alone if it wasn't an important reason. She ignored the absence of Fili for a moment when Aragorn finished looking over Kili.

"He has it. You were right." Aragorn said, pushing his sleeves up. "But Brynn, if he is as bad as you said, this might not help."

Brynn swallowed the lump in her throat Aragorn's statement caused and forced herself to be strong. She watched as Gondor's heir doused a cloth in water and wiped Kilis forehead, murmuring words she couldn't hear and probably wouldn't understand if she could.

She was so focused she didn't see Fili return with Gandalf and Gimli.

"Brynn? Aragorn? What is going on?" The eldest sibling asked, confused.

"Fili, Kili had something called the Black Breath from fighting the Witch King. Aragorn is taking care of it." Brynn explained, coming to her brother's side. "Why is Gandalf here?"

Fili looked uncertain. "You know how he healed uncle on the Carrock? I thought he might be able to heal Kili."

Gandalf nodded. "I will do what I can."

Brynn got choked up with an overwhelming feeling of love. She knew the significance of a wizard using his powers. Not to mention Aragorn being so willing to help them. They were a very loved threesome.

"Thank you, Gandalf." Brynn said quietly. "I know you do not use your magic without great cause."

"This is a great cause, my dear." Gandalf smiled, taking Aragorns place beside Kili.

Fili grabbed Aragorns forearm in thanks, as he was leaving, and they exchanged a few words. Gimli was standing over Kili like a bodyguard, and Brynn was thankful for his presence. It was nice having family there.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

After Gandlaf had finished working on Kili, Brynn had gone to lay down for a bit. He had said they wouldn't be able to see a change in Kilis health unless he woke up and that could take some time. Now, Brynn was back by Kili's side and Fili and Gimli had gone to get rest.

Brynn had been hoping that Kili would wake up straight away, like Thorin had all those years ago, but it hadn't worked that way. A healer had said that his wound was doing much better, but that was all the improvement they'd seen. She had done all she could, and now she had to wait and hope for the best. Waiting was not her strong suit, no matter how hard she tried to master it.

"How is he?"

Brynn looked up as Legolas sat across Kili's bed from her. She watched his expression as he studied Kili's face. Sadness, and confusion. She was surprised.

"He's alive. That's about all I can say." Brynn said quietly.

Legolas' eyes were so mournful it broke Brynn's heart. "Elves do no experience death in the way you do. It is difficult for me to understand. How do you live, knowing you will one day cease to exist?"

Brynn sat back in her chair as she thought. She had not been expecting this. "Well, it's not so final. There's another world where we go when we die. So it's only really bad for those left behind. The people who move on get to go to the most beautiful place imaginable, and meet all the people who passed before them." Brynn closed her eyes. "But I don't want Kili to go there. No matter how nice the place is he'd go... I'd miss him too much."

Legolas nodded. "At least there is comfort in knowing you'll be together again. If I go to the Undying Lands, I will never see Haldir, or Tauriel, ever again."

Brynn remembered the fiery elf she had met so many years ago when they were travelling through Mirkwood on their way to reclaim Erebor. They hadn't gotten along at all, but though Brynn couldn't say she missed her (they hadn't even been close to friends, and they didn't know each other well), she did regret that she had passed. Especially now that she saw how much Legolas clearly missed her.

Brynn could tell Legolas was asking questions with his statements, searching for answers from the girl much younger than he. She didn't know why he trusted her to know things, but she wasn't upset by it. If anything, she liked talking to the elf. Not that she'd ever admit it.

"I have a theory." Brynn said slowly, organizing her thoughts. "Elves must go somewhere when they die. They can't just cease to exist. I won't believe it. So what I think is that they go to the same place as you go when you go to the Undying Lands."

"Interesting." Legolas gave her.

"What's more," Brynn continued. "I believe it's the same place we, dwarves, go. Dwarves, hobbits, men, elves. We coexist here, why not somewhere else?"

"Even more interesting." Legolas paused, thinking about the theory. He wouldn't know if it was true until he sailed across the sea or died. "Why do you believe this?"

Brynn smiled and looked down at her lap. "Bilbo Baggins is a good friend of mine, and even if he is aging very well, I know he will pass before me. I cannot bear to think that I won't ever see him again after that. It just doesn't seem fair." Brynn cleared her throat. "And really, when you take our bodies away we're all the same. Why should we be separated?"

Legolas smiled at her. "You have given me hope, Lady Brynn. I fear I have not given any in return."

Brynn waved him off. "That's alright. We didn't use to be able to have civil conversations, so this was a nice turn of events."

Legolas nodded to that but didn't say anything more. He sat with Brynn for a long time. They didn't talk, just sat. But it wasn't as bad as Brynn was expecting. Eventually though, when it got later, Legolas got up and suggested that Brynn sleep. He left but Brynn stayed behind for a minute. She knelt down beside Kili and took his hand.

"Get better, Kili. Please. We've done all we can, so now it's up to you. You're a fighter. So fight." Brynn kissed Kili on the cheek. "Goodnight, brother."

Brynn pulled his blanket up higher, still holding his hand. She felt a squeeze, and her eyes snapped to his face.

"Kili?" She said breathlessly.

Kili's chest heaved in a huge breath. "Goodnight, darling."

Brynn smiled, putting her hand to Kili's face. He was asleep again, but he had woken up, and that was enough to make Brynn's heart soar.

 **There you have it! Just a little fluffy chapter. I couldn't resist putting Legolas in there. I love how his friendship is building with the trio!**

 **QotC: Which one of my one shots do you like the best? One of my favourites is My Love. I'm a sucker for Brynn and Thorin. ;)**

 **Hope you all have a lovely day!**

 **Please leave me a review so I know what you think!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everybody! Thanks so much for your reviews! I'm sorry I'm taking so long to update. Life keeps getting in the way. :)**

 **Enjoy!**

Brynn told Fili about Kilis short waking the next morning as soon as he woke up. He tore out of bed so fast he tripped over his blankets. He found his shirt and put it on quickly - backwards. Brynn stepped in front of Fili as he tried to leave.

"Fili, my favourite eldest brother... Slow down." She pinched his shirt.

Fili looked down and sighed. He turned his shirt around and then grabbed Brynn's hand and ran for the House of Healing. He wasn't interested in going slow.

When they got to Kili's bedside, his eyes were open, just barely. Fili burst into tears at the sight.

"Come now," Kili said, voice hoarse. "I'm not dead.

Fili smiled, controlling himself. "You were so close."

"It took Aragorn and Gandalf combined to save you." Brynn said, sitting on the edge of Kili's bed.

Kili grimaced, wiggling to sit up more in his bed. Brynn put her hands on his shoulders, keeping him still. If he were in perfect health he could've overpowered her, but as he was, she was the stronger one.

"Don't move." Brynn urged.

Kili rested his hand on her tricep. "I'm fine."

Brynn looked sceptical.

"Really, darling."

Brynn relented and got a pillow for him to lean on. But she only let him sit up a little bit - just enough so he wasn't completely flat on his back.

"Kili, what happened to you?" Fili asked, pulling a chair closer.

Kili thought about it for a minute, getting his order of events in line. "I was fighting about a half dozen orcs, trying to keep them off the men. The Mumakill were wreaking havoc, but I managed to avoid them." He looked at Brynn. "Though I saw _you_ didn't."

Brynn _tsked_ at Kili when Fili sent her a scathing look. What a way to throw her to the wolves.

"What does he mean, Bree?" Fili asked.

"I may have climbed on one." Brynn muttered, avoiding his eyes.

"Did I not say don't do anything foolish?!"

"Well it was that or die, and I didn't think you'd like that option either." Brynn argued.

Fili shook his head, but Brynn knew she had won this one. He really couldn't blame her for doing what she had to to stay alive.

"Anyway," Kili coughed, wincing at the pain it caused him. "The Witch King came into the fray. A Rohirrim was trapped under his horse and the Nazgul was going to eat him. So I got it's attention; made it annoyed. I got in a good position and took a swing at the Witch King. I hit him, but everything became weird. That's when the Orc got me."

"That was the Black Breath." Brynn explained. "I don't know how it works, but it's scary."

Kili looked at his brother and sister one after the other, looking them over. "You both seem alright."

Brynn laughed. "My back is the prettiest mix of purple and blue you've ever seen."

That prompted an explanation, so Brynn recounted her experience on the battlefield. Fili then told his story, which Kili and Brynn found significantly more interesting. A ghost city and raining skulls and pirates. You can't get much better than that. They made Fili describe it in great detail, and asked lots of questions.

Kili was just starting to get tired again when Gimli came. Their cousin erupted in cries of joy when he saw Kili awake, and gave him a massive, but careful, hug.

"I am glad to see you awake, cousin!" Gimli said when he let go.

"And I am glad to see you alive, cousin!" Kili responded with a smile. "I hear you were successful in the Paths of the Dead?"

"Aye, we were. Very! I suggested Aragorn keep them around, but he didn't like the idea."

"That would be cruel, Gimli." Brynn said.

"I know, I know. Now, I am supposed to tell you that Gandalf has called a meeting."

Kili sighed tiredly but started to push his blankets off. "Can you help me up, Fili?"

Both Brynn and Fili halted him this time.

"You are _not_ going." Brynn said sternly.

Kili started to protest, but Fili interrupted him. "Yesterday you were at deaths door. Rest, brother. We'll tell you everything when we get back."

Kili grumbled a bit, but he knew they were right. The minute Fili, Brynn, and Gimli left he fell asleep again. Maybe he _was_ badly off.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

The three dwarves joined Gandalf, Aragorn, Eomer, and Legolas in the Great Hall of the citadel. They asked politely about Kili and expressed great joy at his improvement. Then it was back to business.

"Frodo has passed beyond my sight." Gandalf said, pacing aimlessly. "The darkness is deepening."

"If Sauron had the Ring we would know it." Aragorn said with certainty.

"It's only a matter of time. He has suffered defeat, but our enemy is regrouping behind the walls of Mordor."

Brynn thought about the statement. Their last two victories seemed minuscule now. How were they to defeat Sauron when his army was growing every day in Mordor?

Then Brynn realized something. "If they're all joining in Mordor, then a force of at least ten thousand stands between Frodo and Mount Doom."

Gandalf nodded, affirming Brynn's realization. "I have sent him to his death."

"No." Fili said, turning to Gandalf. "There is still hope. He needs time and safe passage across the plains of Gorgoroth. We can give him that."

Nobody seemed to catch on.

"How?" Eomer asked, obviously thinking Fili nuts.

Aragorn stepped forward to stand beside Fili. "Draw out Sauron's armies. Empty his lands. Then we gather our full strength and march on the Black Gate."

Gimli choked on his pipe, giving his friend a disbelieving look. No one else seemed very pleased with the plan either. Brynn, though, saw the point. Sacrifice.

"We cannot defeat him through strength of arms." Eomer said, and he would know best of everyone.

"No, we can't." Brynn agreed. "Not for ourselves. But we can give Frodo a chance. Keep Sauron's eye fixed on us, keep him blind to all that moves."

"A diversion." Legolas summed up, looking excited by the idea.

"Certainty of death, small chance of success. What are we waiting for?" Gimli declared.

Brynn was getting excited. They had a plan, and they were going to save Frodo.

"Sauron will suspect it. He will not take the bait." Gandalf said, still doubtful.

Brynn, no longer afraid of the wizard, was about to ask him however politely she could manage to shut his mouth and stop crushing her hope, but Aragorn spoke first. He had a plan. Brynn could see it in his eyes.

"Oh," He said, fire in his eyes, "I think he will."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

They were going to march on Mordor in a few days to get as many soldiers as they possibly could. Many of the wounded just needed rest before they could be in fighting shape again. Including, despite Fili and Brynn's objections, Kili. He hadn't gotten that idea in his head by word of an official healer. No, HE had decided by himself that he would be well enough to fight.

"Kili, don't be absurd." Fili said, already worrying about his brother and they hadn't even left Gondor. "You're hurt."

"I'm healing more and more by the day, I'll be fine." Kili insisted. "Maybe not quite as strong, but able."

He _was_ doing much better, walking around and doing sword exercises. Brynn tried to keep him still and safe, but he refused. The one way to heal was to force his body back to normal, according to him.

"This isn't some skirmish." Brynn said gently, sitting beside Kili on his bed. "This will be just as brutal as when we came here. If not worse."

Kili shook his head impatiently, standing up as if he couldn't make his point sitting down. "Look, do not think I don't know the scope of this. That I don't know the plan. We're throwing ourselves in front of Sauron's full force so Frodo can get to Mount Doom, and then what? Those who go there aren't coming back."

Brynn squeezed her hands together. "That's not true!"

"Don't lie to me! You know you can't." Kili took a deep breath before he spoke again, but still his voice shook. "I will not let you die without me."

That struck Fili and Brynn silent. They couldn't find a counter argument to that because they knew if they were in his place they would feel the same way.

Brynn nodded thoughtfully. "Okay, Kili."

Kili breathed deeply, calming down. "Thank you."

He sat down once again, and Fili joined him and Brynn on the bed as well. They sat there together for a long time, mostly in silence. They didn't really know what to say.

Eventually Kili kicked them out so he could get as much rest as possible before they left in the morning. Fili and Brynn bid him goodnight; perhaps for the last time.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fili and Brynn sat on a balcony overlooking the white city. They gazed at the stars up above and tried to ignore the storm raging above Mordor. Tomorrow they would be thrust once more into war, and they just wanted one more glimpse of calm.

Brynn leaned her head on Fili's shoulder. "We're going to die tomorrow, aren't we?"

Fili took a deep breath, pausing before answering. "Most likely."

"I don't think I've ever gone into something expecting to die."

"Me either."

Brynn shivered against the chill of the night, pressing into Fili's side even more. It was surreal, knowing when you were going to die. She didn't regret it; she didn't dread it. But it left a heavy feeling in her chest, like she needed to cherish every minute.

"Uncle Thorin is going to be sour." Brynn commented, teeth chattering ever so slightly.

"Aye." Fili agreed with a quiet laugh. "So is mama."

Brynn pondered for a minute. "I have no quarrels with dying... but what do you think it's like?" She sighed. "I think I'm afraid to die, Fili."

"I think you just have to see it as another adventure. I mean, you were scared before we went to Erebor, weren't you?"

Brynn nodded.

"And you were scared when we went to Rohan."

Brynn nodded again.

"But in the end, despite the fears, everything turned out to be alright, and we were grateful we came."

Brynn looked up at Fili, face bathed in moonlight. "So death is just another adventure?"

Fili nodded, kissing her forehead and hugging her. "Bigger and grander than we ever could have imagined."

Brynn looked out over Gondor's scenery, still trying to avoid the dark sight of Mordor but much more calm now. She was ready to die.

 **Ahhh the stress!**

 **While I was writing that last scene I was really trying to put myself in Brynn's shoes and I got so chilled by the notion of knowing the day when you were going to die. How do you even wrap your mind around that? What do you do with your precious time? What do you say to those around you? I figured Brynn would do exactly what she did - spend time with her brother.**

 **Anyway, that's my "deep" thought of the day. Anyone else have any thoughts on the subject?**

 **QotC: To go along with the above... If you were going into that last battle and knew you had little chance of survival, what would you do with the time?**

 **I'm very excited for the next chapter! Please leave me a review. Until next time!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello hello hello! I'm here with another chapter. I can't believe there's only four more to go after this!**

 **NarniaTolkienNerd: I think dying for someone else is the most noble way die! If I die prematurely, I hope it's in a way like that.**

 **LacyTheRomanWerewolf: Aww, thanks! You're so sweet. :)**

 **Enjoy!**

The army was eerily quite as they rode toward the storm. The past two huge battles and all the smaller ones had just been a scramble to survive. There wasn't much planning, not much time to prepare. Everything was driven by the desperation to live. Now, they were handing themselves over. It felt wrong, even though they knew it was right. It was their last chance to save the world, and make it a better place again. Just not for them.

Brynn kept a careful eye on Kili to make sure he was okay. She didn't know what she would do if he wasn't. It was too late for him to turn back, and even if he could he wouldn't. But he seemed to be doing alright. He was a little paler than normal, but he sat proud on his horse, face set. Of course, knowing him, he could be in a world of pain and she wouldn't know until he passed out.

Brynn's heart pounded every time she thought of her impending death. Her talk with Fili had helped immensely, but she kept thinking of the moment it would happen. When a weapon would pierce her so badly that her heart would stop. It scared her. But maybe, just maybe, it gave her the tiniest thrill. Death really was another adventure.

Though they did not rush to Mordor, it came far quicker than any of them wanted. The Black Gates were all they could see of the horizon, and thunder rolled ominously close. Lightening lit up the purple clouds, but stayed there, nature not even wanting to touch the foul ground of Mordor. There was a slight breeze, just enough to chill the sheen of sweat in the soldiers bodies.

They halted when they were still a good distance from the gate. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. Brynn scanned the top of the wall for any sign of inhabitance, any sign of movement. Surely Sauron was not afraid of their tiny combination of two armies. They were hardly a threat, no matter how much they lied to themselves.

"Where are they?" Pippin asked. It was quiet, but loud in the utter silence, and it made Brynn jump a little.

Aragorn looked at the hobbit, then back at the gate. He pressed his feet into his horses sides and moved forward. Brynn had no idea what his plan was, but she followed him, along with the rest of his friends. They crossed the barren, dusty ground between them and Mordor and stopped once again. Brynn couldn't help but gape at the enormity of the black wall in front of her. Sauron must have used trolls to build it. And, now that she thought more, he would need trolls to open it too. Brynn hated trolls; they were a nuisance. But they were dumb, simple creatures, and the thought of what Sauron had done to them to make them comply was horrific, and she wanted the burning eye to be destroyed all the more.

"Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth!" Aragorn shouted to the gate. "Let justice be done upon him!"

There was a pause of mind numbing silence once more, and then the gate started to ease open. A lone soldier came out. It was not an Orc, but Brynn could not call him a man either. He was tall, almost as tall as they were on horses, but so thin. His head was covered in a helmet, only showing his mouth and chin. His skin was pale, but his lips were the type of red blood got when it was old. They pulled back to reveal dark gums and horrid yellow teeth.

"My master Sauron the Great bids thee welcome." He spoke in a low voice that was almost breathy. No one said anything in response, still appalled by his appearance. "Is there any in this rout with authority to treat me?"

The arrogance with which he spoke made him all the more unappealing.

Gandalf was the one to answer the Mouth of Sauron. "We do not come to treat with Sauron, faithless and accursed. Tell your master this; the armies of Mordor must disband. He is to depart from these lands, never to return."

The Mouth laughed. "Aha! Old Greybeard! I have a token I was bidden to show thee."

From the depths of the things armour he pulled a white, glimmering shirt. Brynn recognized it as Bilbo's mithril shirt that Thorin had given him. Their burglar must have given it to his nephew.

"Frodo!" Pippin cried in distress. "Frodo!"

"Hush, Pippin." Kili said quietly, though shook as well.

"No!" Merry yelled.

"Silence!" Gandalf ordered.

Saurons lieutenant sneered. "The halfling was dear to you I see. Know that he suffered greatly at the hands of his host. Who would've thought one so small could endure so much pain? And he did, Gandalf. He did."

Gandalfs eyes were filled with tears. Brynn didn't know what to think. Frodo couldn't be dead. It couldn't be over.

"That shirt was made by the dwarves of Erebor. You will give it back to those it belongs to." Fili said, clearly trying to shut the thing up and give Gandalf a chance to regain himself. Still, his voice was filled with the tone of a king, and only a fool would deny his command.

The Mouth of Sauron made no move to give up the shirt.

"That was a kings gift." Brynn said, voice shaking with anger. "You are not worthy to touch it, scum!"

The Mouth snarled and threw the shirt to Brynn. She snatched it out of the air and handed it to Pippin, who held it reverently.

"Princess Brynn, and Princes Fili and Kili." The lieutenant looked at them each in turn. "You speak with much bravado, while your mountain crumbles."

The siblings didn't honour his words with a response, partly out of spite, and partly because they could not think of anything to say.

"I hope you treasures your moments of farewell with King Thorin, for they were your last. He was killed, his head cleaved in two."

Brynn shut her mouth against the string of Khuzdul swear words that wanted to spill from her mouth. Thorin could not be dead. She would know, wouldn't she? But how could this sorry creature know her vision?

Aragorn knew of Brynn's vision. She had told him about it on the way to Gondor, before they had split paths. He knew how the Mouth's words would affect her and her brothers, and it was adding to his anger.

Brynn watched Aragorn move forward on his horse, moving to circle the lieutenant. She wondered what he would do. She didn't like him getting so close; this lieutenant was making her nervous.

"And who's this?" The cursed spoke. "Isildur's heir? It takes more to make a king than a broken Elvish blade."

Aragorn pulled his sword out of his scabbard and swept it at his adversary, completely separating his head from his shoulders with a mighty yell. It flopped to the ground and the body went after it.

"I do not believe it!" He yelled. "I will not. Frodo is not dead, and neither is King Thorin."

Brynn shook her head. "But the mithril, and my vision..."

"We have not lost until we let them poison our minds. You know in your hearts what is true. Hold onto it."

Behind Aragorn, the Black Gates started to open. Thousands of orcs were marching behind the doors. It was a size of force Brynn had never seen before.

"Fall back!" Aragorn ordered, and they turned and galloped back to their army.

While Aragorns friends rejoined the ranks, he stayed out front. His face was set, fully prepared to face the oncoming storm. He seemed to be the only one. The men shuffled nervously, watching their fate march from Mordor.

Aragorn began to speak, and all eyes left the enemy and focused on their leader. "Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see it in your eyes, the same fear that would take the heart of me." He was riding back and forth, looking his men in the eye. "A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight!"

Brynn looked at the soldiers around her, and saw the same courage building she felt in herself.

Aragorn continued. "By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, men of the west!"

The soldiers all drew their weapons, now ready to take on the horde spilling from Mordors bellows. If this was to be the end, they would make it a good one.

 **My land, doesn't Aragorn's speech give you chills?**

 **This was really short, please don't kill me! Hopefully the next chapter will make up for it, I'm excited for it!**

 **Please review, let me know your thoughts! :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Back with a mighty battle! The end is nigh, my friends!**

 **LucyTheRomanWerewolf: Brynn is definitely going to kick some Orc butt! I don't think she knows how to do anything else... ;)**

The monstrous army split, each half bending a different way. They were going to surround the men, and cut off their way of retreat. It was truly the end.

Brynn and the other riders dismounted from the horses, choosing to fight on the ground with the other soldiers. Brynn felt much better with solid ground under her feet. At least, as well as she could as she was looking her death in the face.

It didn't take long for them to be surrounded. They watched it happen, numb. Brynn didn't like it. She didn't like waiting for something to attack her, she preferred to do the attacking. She looked to both her sides, to see her companions before the battle started. Fili and Kili were on one side, and Legolas and Gimli were on the other side. Brynn looked at Legloas, thinking how odd her life was ending.

"I never thought I'd die like this." She said.

Fili looked over and saw whom she was staring at. "Side by side with an elf?"

Brynn nodded.

"I was thinking the same." Gimli said from Legolas's other side.

"Aye." Kili agreed with a laugh. "Rather odd."

Legolas smiled, looking at his dwarven comrades. "What about side by side with a friend?"

Gimli took a deep breath, looking at his cousins for approval before answering. "Aye. We could do that."

Brynn watched as Aragorn moved forward, mesmerized by something. His sword dropped to his side. She hoped he wasn't losing courage, for she was gaining most of hers from him. Aragorn looked back at Gandalf, who held up Frodo's mithril shirt.

Aragorn smiled, lifting his sword once more. "For Frodo."

He turned and charged. His friends followed right after him, and then the army as well. Energy surged from body to body, assurance building with every step. They were one force now, one body. Gondorian or Rohirrim; man, elf, or dwarf, they were bonded together with something stronger than allegiance.

Then they crashed into the opposing army. Brynn had been heading straight for a particular Uruk-hai, and it had had its sights set on her as well. It raised its ax high above its head in preparation. It never ceased to amaze Brynn how dumb those creatures could be sometimes. She slid right through its legs and rose up on the other side to stab it in the back.

She was now in the din of battle. For every one of their soldiers there were ten or more orcs. Horrifying odds. Brynn fought with no pause. There was no shortage of enemies for her to face. Unfortunately, that was not true for the orcs. It was almost as if they had to line up to fight a soldier. It happened a few times where there were two so close together that Brynn was able to run her sword through both at once.

The huge Uruk clearly didn't like her. At least, that's what she assumed when it bellowed an angry war cry after she felled five of its brethren one after the other. It had charged her, but it wasn't as foolish as she had hoped it'd be. He stopped, and fought her like a skilled warrior. His weapon was a stick and mace head. Much like the Witch King's weapon, but without the chain. He swung down and Brynn sidestepped. He swung at her shoulder, she dropped and rolled then leapt to her feet. The length of the mace was keeping Brynn too far away to attack with a sword, so she went with it. She took her sword in her left hand. She leapt over the next attack while drawing a throwing knife. She landed, and with a flick of her wrist, she threw the small blade straight into the Uruk-Hai's eye and into its brain. It crumpled.

"Nice one, Bree!" Fili called from afar. He was sitting on the shoulders of a large creature that looked like a cross between an Uruk and a troll, trying to keep his seat and kill the thing at the same time.

"I learned from the best!" Brynn replied with a wink, then turned to find her next kill.

Legolas was fighting fiercely just a short distance from Brynn, blasting through the orcs as fast as she was. But he didn't see the two Uruk-hai coming up behind him. One had a massive battle ax, and the other had a crude but deadly weapon.

Brynn ran up to the pair and sunk her sword right up to its hilt in the one with the ax. She left it there and went for the axe instead. It was twice her size, but she hefted it above her head anyway, leaning back as far as she dared. With a mighty cry, she used her full body weight to cleave the creature in two. Perhaps a bit of an over-kill.

Legolas looked startled as the Uruk fell, but then he saw the person behind it.

He raised an eyebrow at the dead body. "That was..."

"Impressive?" Brynn asked, throwing an axe into a charging Orc.

"I was going to say excessive." Legolas was back to shooting.

Brynn rolled her eyes. "You need to watch your back, Master Elf." She engaged an enemy in a slightly longer fight but still won.

Legolas smirked at her. "Evidentially I have no need."

An all too familiar scream filled the air. The Nazgul had joined the fray. Brynn felt a pang. That was the last thing they needed. But then she heard a different sound. A heavy, rhythmic _whoosh_. And then, a piercing screech. Brynn had heard the sound twice before, years prior. Eagles.

She turned around, and there, behind her in the sky, were multiple of the massive, majestic beasts. They were beautiful: dangerously beautiful. Brynn allowed herself a few seconds to watch in awe as the birds crashed into the Nazgul before she herself went back to fighting.

Brynn and Legolas got separated, without surprise. She had already been separated from her brothers, and now she was pushing her way to where she thought they were. She soon found them fighting side by side and joined them in destroying their opponents.

"Aha, there she is!" Kili yelled, a smile lighting his face.

Fili glanced over at his little sister. "We were saying we couldn't be truly terrifying without you adding to the fury."

"I agree!" Brynn said, slicing an orcs arm off and pushing the creature to Kili so he could finish it off.

A group of ten Uruk-hai converged and charged the trio, all heavy steps and snarls. To anyone else, it would be scary, but Thorin's heirs stood their ground with ease.

"My land." Brynn said, swinging her blade. "It's as if they don't know whom they face."

"Aye. Didn't you hear?" Kili yelled to the stampeding Uruks. "Khazâd ai-mênu!" (The dwarves are upon you!)

The Uruks met the three dwarves, but they didn't get far. It was as if there was a magic line keeping them from taking one more step, but there wasn't. It was just the pure wrath of the Durin line, fighting for everything and everyone they loved. Fighting for their mother, and their uncle, and their people. They fought for Erebor, as they always had, but now they fought for Middle Earth as well. They were determined to not let it fall.

The nazgul screamed and Brynn looked up. The beasts were flying to Mount Doom at great speed. She knew for certain now that their hope was not lost. Something was drawing them away, and she was almost sure that it was Frodo. That renewed her strength even more. She would give him more time, and if she died then so be it.

A cave troll was close by, wreaking havoc like a cave troll did. It was armoured, and that was not a good thing. What was even worse was that it was headed straight for Aragorn. Brynn left her brothers to help her friend. She had fought trolls before, and would be of more assistance than the average soldier. The only problem was that she couldn't get there at any great speed. Orcs and men alike were cutting her off. Aragorn was fighting the troll desperately but wasn't making any progress on killing it. The troll hit him, and he fell backwards, his sword flying from his hand.

Brynn looked back at Kili. She could barely see him. "Kili! Yn umgor rukhs! Hrestuog ek kurdu!" (The cave Orc! Destroy its heart!) She prayed her brother would be able to pick out their language over the din of battle.

Aragorn was crawling for his sword, the troll striding after him. Brynn was still pushing towards him, but she wouldn't make it.

She saw Kili looking at her and pointed to the troll. "Darafa ek! Darafa ek! Ruag!" (Kill it! Kill it! Hurry!)

The troll had its foot on Aragorns chest. It was going to crush him. Kili yelled to his brother to cover him, and sheathed his sword to take up his bow and arrow.

And then the troll froze. He looked to Mordor and then ran away. Kili relaxed his bow in confusion. All of a sudden a horrible screeching and groaning filled the air. All fighting stopped as everyone looked toward the eye. It was bulging and writhing, looking this way and that. Then, Barad Dur began to collapse. It crashed to the ground, the eye exploding. A huge shockwave rushed over the battlefield. They had done it. _Frodo_ had done it. Sauron was gone. Almost immediately the air felt cleaner, and the darkness in their souls lifted.

The Black Gate began to crumble, and the orcs began to run. Brynn didn't bother to raise her sword, but watched as tears of joy filled her eyes.

The ground around Mordor cracked, and it SWALLOWED the Orc army as they ran. Brynn returned to stand with her brothers, watching the sight with awe.

There was a brief second of silence, and then Mount Doom erupted. Brynns eyes widened in shock as fire roared from the mountain and sparks burst into the air. She could hardly believe what was happening. No one could survive that, and Frodo and Sam were up there. Frodo and Sam, who had given everything to see the Ring destroyed. Frodo and Sam, who had saved Middle Earth but would never get to see the results.

Brynns tears of joy tuned to tears of sorrow for the young, brace hobbits. She cried silently as she watched the mountain vomit out the taste of the Ring. Even nature expelled such evil. Fili wrapped his arm around Brynn's shoulder, and Kili gripped her hand. They had tears in their eyes as well. Frodo and Sam deserved better, and Bilbo deserved to have his nephew come home to him.

Brynn looked to the sky as the Eagles swooped overhead, flying towards the mountain. Gandalf was upon one. He was going to look for Frodo and Sam. He had hope, and Brynn was grateful, for she was severely lacking.

 **Thanks so much for reading! I love writing for you guys so much. :)**

 **Please leave me a review!**

 **Until next time.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey all! Sorry for the long wait, I've been very busy with trips and stuff. This chapter has some good ol' Brynn wisdom for y'all. :)**

 **Enjoy!**

Brynns heart soared when Gandalf had brought Frodo and Sam back to Minis Tirith. They were both unconscious, but alive, and that was all she needed.

Brynn and her brothers waited with the Fellowship for the two hobbits to wake up. Sam did so first. After the general greetings and congratulations he had had to rest again and they gave him space. The trio split up, going their separate ways to process their journey. It was over, but it never felt like it. They would be going back to Erebor as soon as possible, but Aragorn was going to be crowned and they promised they would stay for it.

Brynn was staring vacantly at a flower in one of the gardens of Minis Tirith, playing absently with a thread coming from a bandage on her arm. Part of her felt sick at the idea of going back to Erebor, because she was scared of what they would find. She was terrified that her mother or uncle would be dead. And even if they were alive, how many of their people had died? Their friends? And their mountain - what state was that in? So many questions she couldn't decide if she wanted to know the answers to. Not knowing would kill her, but knowing might do the same.

"Miss Brynn?"

Brynn looked up to see Sam standing in front of her. She noticed again how he looked different than the last time she saw him. Older. Wiser. War did that.

"Hello, Samwise." She greeted with a smile.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh yes. Just thinking. Care to join me?"

Sam sat down beside Brynn and took a deep breath. "I've been doing a lot of that lately. Thinking, I mean."

Brynn nodded. "It's part of the adventure process. You have to think about what you've been through. And you've been through a lot."

"That's just it. For a long time I haven't known if we'd make it through the next day. Now it's over. I don't know how I'm supposed to go back to the Shire and just garden again." Sam looked at Brynn. "How did you settle, after taking back Erebor?"

Brynn thought for a moment. It was a tough question. She remembered feeling the same way he did. Feeling restless, feeling bored. Adventures were fickle things; not easily understood.

"I never really did, Sam. Not fully. I got my routine down, but there was always that itch for excitement. I think we just have to realize that adventures aren't meant to be forever. They wouldn't be adventures if they were. And that's their purpose. They came to teach us something and to grow us, so we can go back to our lives bettered and stronger. But adventure is always around the corner. We just have to be ready to seize it when it comes."

"That sounds like an adventure in itself." Sam said.

Brynn smiled. "It is! You'll see, Sam. You'll have another adventure. But until then, you just have to cherish the life you get to live. The people you get to love."

Sam got up from his seat and knelt in front of the garden, plucking a weed from the side of a flower. He patted the dirt back down and then turned to Brynn once more. "I suppose gardening is in my roots." He said with a grin.

Brynn burst into laughter. "In your _roots_ , aye? Oh, my dear Sam. I'm glad we made it here."

"Me too, Miss Brynn."

Brynn got off the bench and knelt beside Sam. She never had been good at gardening, but maybe the hobbit could teach her a few things.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Brynn ran through the streets of Minis Tirith at top speeds, trying her best not to run into anyone. It was two days after the battle, and she had just been given word that Frodo had woken up.

Brynn burst through the door to Frodo's room. All of the Fellowship was there, and her brothers. Frodo was sitting up, laughing as Merry and Pippin told him an animated story. He looked well, but older, and slightly more tired. She wasn't surprised, though it pained her to see him effected such by his journey. He was so innocent in the Shire.

Brynn interrupted Merry and Pippin's tale to hug Frodo tightly. They lived with Frodo, they had all the time in the world with him. She, however, did not.

"Brynn!" Frodo cried as he hugged her back.

Brynn sat back next to him. "Welcome back to the land of the living, my friend."

"You've no idea my surprise at seeing you three here." Frodo exclaimed, a huge smile on his face.

"And you've no idea our surprise when we heard you were on your way to save the world!" Brynn replied.

"Well I couldn't have done it without all of you." Frodo looked around at his group of friends with fondness, then focused back on Brynn. "How long are you here for?"

"Just until Aragorns coronation. We must be back to our uncle.

Frodo nodded understandingly. "You must pass on my greetings to him."

Brynn gripped his hand. "Of course. But it is not yet time for that." She looked around the room, the enormity of what they had accomplished sinking in. "I think we should all share our stories. We've missed a lot."

Through the tellings of the different people in the room was shared the complete story of the destruction of the Ring, from Bilbo's party to the parting of the fellowship to Gandalf coming back to life, to the massive battles of many armies and the smaller fights that mattered just as much, and finally ending there in that room, with everyone together again. The tale was nearly finished.

 **As is this one. ;) It's a short chapter, I know, but we're winding down and that's what happens. One of my favourite parts is coming up! I love the coronation! Beautiful moment.**

 **Until next time!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Ahhhhh. Guys! Sorry I've been gone for so long! I feel bad. Here are the final two chapters!**

Brynn stood with her brothers in the courtyard of Minis Tirith, dressed in beautiful clothes gifted to them by the soon to be King of Gondor. People were packed side by side and back to back, all the way to the point of the courtyard, but the trio stood near the front. They were given that privilege by Aragorn, as with the rest of the Fellowship and their friends.

It was a beautiful day, but even if it had not been, the joy emanating fro the crowd could not have been dulled. They were going to have a king again.

Brynn held her breath as Gandalf held the crown high in the air and then placed it upon Aragorns head.

"Now come the days of the King. May they be blessed." Gandalf said, then moved back.

Aragon stood and turned to his people who were watching him with rapture. "This day does not belong to one man, but to all. Let us together rebuild this world, that we may share in the days of peace."

The people clapped and cheered. Not in a long time had they such hope. From above, soft pink petal began to rain down on the spectators. The beauty was breathtaking.

Aragorn began to sing, and he came down the steps to greet his people. They bowed to him in turn as he walked amongst them. He finished his song just as he reached the trio. They bowed to him.

"My friends, I cannot thank you enough for the sacrifice you made in coming here." Aragorn said earnestly.

"We do not regret a single moment." Fili replied.

Aragorn bowed his head and moved on to Legolas. They exchanged a few words, and then Legolas motioned behind him. Brynn watched as the crowd parted. There was a banner, with a white tree. It moved, and there stood Arwen Undomiel. Brynn gasped at the sight. Behind her was her father, watching the scene with tearful eyes. She caught his eye, and he nodded.

Brynn clapped with everyone else when Aragorn kissed his love and spun her around. Tears of joy fell down her cheeks.

Kili nudged her teasingly. "Women - they're so sentimental!"

Brynn gave him a shove, but paid him no mind. He couldn't spoil this moment for her.

Arwen and Aragorn clasped hands and continued through the crowd, coming shortly to the four hobbits. They all bowed timidly, not quite sure how to act.

"My friends," Aragorn said, and the hobbits straightened. "You bow to no one."

Without another word, Aragorn and Arwen knelt before the hobbits, clearly shocking them. Brynn, Fili, and Kili were the next to take a knee, and soon the entire crowd followed suit. No one deserved it more, for the war could not have ended without any of them. Pippin, who accidentally saw Saurons plans and managed to not only save Gondor as a whole but also Faramirs life. Merry, who helped convince the Entmoot to take down Saruman, and who played a had in killing the Witchking. Frodo, who had the strength and courage to destroy the One Ring. And Sam, whom without, Frodo would never have made it to Mordor.

They truly were heroes.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Brynn hugged Merry and Pippin tightly and then pulled back, feeling the tightness in her throat start to hurt. Adventures were hard for the reasons that she and Sam had talked about, but the worst part for her was when it came time to say goodbye.

"Come visit us anytime." She said to the four hobbits.

They smiled half heartedly at her.

"We will, Lady Brynn." Merry promised.

"Good." Brynn turned to Frodo. "Make sure you tell your uncle hello from us, and that he really should visit soon. But the brothers and I will visit as soon as we settle things in Erebor. That is if it's still standing. Mahal help us." She muttered.

Frodo smiled a real smile. "I will. He will be happy to hear it. He misses you all."

"Oh, we miss him too. I still say he should come live with us. Ah, I am holding us up. Farewell, hobbits!"

Brynn moved on down the line of people she needed to say goodbye to. Gimli (who was staying a while longer), Gandalf, Eomer, and the hobbits were done, and that left just Aragorn and Legolas. She faced them together.

"Aragorn. Legolas... Thank you for taking care of my cousin. I know he is a handful." She laughed as Gimli started to protest. "But really, thank you for everything. It has been an honour fighting beside you both."

Aragorn bowed his head. "It has been for us as well."

"You really will make a great king, Aragorn. We haven't associated much with Gondor over the years, but now we will be proud to. You will do this country well." She stepped forward and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Brynn." Aragorn said, hugging her back.

Brynn turned to Legolas. "I never thought I'd see the day when I would be farewelling YOU." She laughed.

Legolas frowned at her, a twinkle still in his eye. He extended his hand to her. "Filthy dwarf."

Brynn gripped his forearm. "Frilly he-elf." She shot back.

Legolas smiled at her, and then, she pulled him towards her and hugged him, just as tight as she had hugged Aragorn.

"I'm telling Uncle Thorin you hugged an elf!" Kili yelled, a cheeky smile on his face.

Brynn turned to him. "See if I care! It's time we moved on from the past, I think."

Fill nodded. "Agreed."

Without further delay, the trio gave a final wave and 'goodbye', and began the long journey back to Erebor. It always felt bittersweet going home, especially now, when they didn't truly know if they had anything to go back to.

"I am glad we came." Brynn whispered, lifting her feet high above the tall grass. "No matter what we find when we get home."

"As am I, Bree." Fili said. "As am I."


	20. Chapter 20

Dale was ghostly, just as it was when the trio had left. When war struck the city had sought shelter in the mountain, since it was better protected. But now, Sauron was defeated, and the humans had still not returned home. Were they all dead?

Th trio trekked up the rocks at the base of the mountain, eyes straining to see any glimpse of life. Maybe Erebor was just a massive tomb now, like Maria had become.

Brynn stumbled as a loud horn blast echoed across the plains. It was the signal of the royals returning home. Bless Mahal - someone was alive. The gates slowly turned open when the princes and princess arrived. Inside, there were many people alive. The mountain was a flurry of activity. Soldiers were sharpening weapons, fixing armor, fixing themselves.

Brynn, Fili, and Kili pushed through the crowds, hoping to find their uncle. And then they saw him. Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain son of Thror, King Under the Mountain, hair more grey than black now and the signs of age taking its toll but making him no less majestic, sprinting towards his niece and nephews.

He threw his arms around them, somehow managing to capture all three, and then pulled away to look them over. "I was beginning to fear you were dead."

"Close to it, a couple of times." Brynn laughed, joyous that Sauron had failed in his plans to kill her uncle.

"It wouldn't be believable if you three didn't almost die at least once." Thorin shook his head.

"Uncle, Sauron is defeated. Frodo Baggins did it." Kili said.

"I am not surprised, he is Bilbos kin! But Saurons defeat - that explains much. The remnants of his forces have gathered and are storming Erebor. One last battle." Thorin paused. "Will you fight beside me?"

Fili looked at his siblings. "What kind of question is that? Of course we will."

Thorin clasped his shoulder. "Thank you." Another horn sounded, this one of war. "It looks like you got here just in time."

The royals moved to the gate, right in the front. Their closest friends joined them - Dwalin, Nori, and pretty much the rest of the company - and the rest of the soldiers filled in behind them.

One last battle, one final charge. The dwarves stood together, brothers and sisters, ready to face the army trying to take their mountain. But there was no chance of them giving it up. They wouldn't stand down. They were the dwarves of Erebor, and any orc or goblin or whatever creature of the dark waiting on the other side of the gate who thought they could win was doomed to die.

The doors swung open with a warm whirring sound. Before they even fully opened, Thorin yelled his battle cry.

"Baruk Khazad!" (Axes of the dwarves!)

The army responded with a mighty roar. "Du bekar!" (To arms!) And charged out of the mountain.

Line upon line of Saurons forces stood in front of them, giving one last shot at taking over. But the Durin line had no intention of letting that happen.

Brynn felt herself get lighter the closer she got to the front line of orcs. It was good to be back defending her home, her family and friends as good as family by her side. Oh the thrill of fighting with your people!

To her right ran Fili and Kili. To her left, Thorin. This was going to be fun.

With a noise surely heard leagues away, the two armies crashed together in a fierce tangle. Only one would remain by the end, and Mahal knows the Durins wouldn't it let it be the orcs. They would destroy them.

 **Thank you all so much for bearing with me in this journey! It was a pleasure getting to write this for you. :)**


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